Subscribe to our Mailing Lists (It's free!)
Thursday, June 5, 2025
SAFETY4SEA
  • Home
  • Safety
    • All
    • Accidents
    • Alerts
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
    Kerch Strait oil spill

    Ukraine charges captain of tanker over Kerch Strait oil spill

    lessons learned

    Lessons learned: Position your body correctly in confined spaces

    USCG alert

    USCG issues alert on fire detection systems on towing vessels

    Genoa Port

    Ferry suffers exhaust system fire in port of Genoa

  • SEAFiT
    • All
    • Intellectual
    • Mental
    • Physical
    • Social
    • Spiritual
    balanced life

    Balanced life improves mental health

    Too important to be routine: Enhancing Master and Chief Engineer performance appraisals

    Too important to be routine: Enhancing Master and Chief Engineer performance appraisals

    culture of respect

    Addressing crew shortage: Establish clear expectations for respectful and professional behaviour

    Book Review: Building leaders the MMMA way

    Book Review: How to avoid a climate disaster

  • Green
    • All
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
    wind assisted propulsion

    Union Maritime set to take delivery of new wind-assisted tanker

    Northern Sea Route

    Russia expects 50% rise in Northern Sea Route transits

    khalifa port e-methanol

    Major players sign for e-methanol bunkering at Khalifa Port

    Mitsubishi

    Companies join forces on green energy and digitalization

  • Smart
    • All
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
    ABS cybersecurity

    ABS: 8 key steps for cybersecurity and operational readiness

    nuclear data centres

    New study explores floating nuclear data centers to support AI

    shipping emissions containerships

    New study reveals that digital port queueing cuts emissions by 24%

    From human error to human insight: How behavioral data is reshaping maritime safety

    From human error to human insight: How behavioral data is reshaping maritime safety

  • Risk
    • All
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Focus
    • Vetting
    libya

    UN extends mandate on vessel inspections off Libya’s coast

    NCL Salten

    Inspection onboard NCL Salten reveals deficiencies

    India monsoon

    India: Mooring and anchoring during the Monsoon season

    hull

    Libya mandates underwater hull inspections

  • Others
    • All
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
    tariffs Trump

    US raises tariffs on steel and aliminum from 25% to 50%

    Northern Sea Route

    Russia expects 50% rise in Northern Sea Route transits

    South Africa

    South Africa revives plans to establish a national shipping line

    Panama Canal Authority

    Panama Canal experiences historic surge in container ship transits

  • Columns
    ethanol

    Ethanol makes its case in maritime decarbonisation

    crew welfare

    Proactive measures can transform crew wellbeing

    zombie vessels

    Zombie vessels and the grey fleet

    Trending Tags

    • Anchor Your Health
    • Book Review
    • Career Paths
    • Human Performance
    • Industry Voices
    • Interviews
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Regulatory Update
    • Resilience
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
    • Training & Development
    • Wellness Corner
    • Wellness Tips
  • Events
  • Plus
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Safety
    • All
    • Accidents
    • Alerts
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
    Kerch Strait oil spill

    Ukraine charges captain of tanker over Kerch Strait oil spill

    lessons learned

    Lessons learned: Position your body correctly in confined spaces

    USCG alert

    USCG issues alert on fire detection systems on towing vessels

    Genoa Port

    Ferry suffers exhaust system fire in port of Genoa

  • SEAFiT
    • All
    • Intellectual
    • Mental
    • Physical
    • Social
    • Spiritual
    balanced life

    Balanced life improves mental health

    Too important to be routine: Enhancing Master and Chief Engineer performance appraisals

    Too important to be routine: Enhancing Master and Chief Engineer performance appraisals

    culture of respect

    Addressing crew shortage: Establish clear expectations for respectful and professional behaviour

    Book Review: Building leaders the MMMA way

    Book Review: How to avoid a climate disaster

  • Green
    • All
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
    wind assisted propulsion

    Union Maritime set to take delivery of new wind-assisted tanker

    Northern Sea Route

    Russia expects 50% rise in Northern Sea Route transits

    khalifa port e-methanol

    Major players sign for e-methanol bunkering at Khalifa Port

    Mitsubishi

    Companies join forces on green energy and digitalization

  • Smart
    • All
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
    ABS cybersecurity

    ABS: 8 key steps for cybersecurity and operational readiness

    nuclear data centres

    New study explores floating nuclear data centers to support AI

    shipping emissions containerships

    New study reveals that digital port queueing cuts emissions by 24%

    From human error to human insight: How behavioral data is reshaping maritime safety

    From human error to human insight: How behavioral data is reshaping maritime safety

  • Risk
    • All
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Focus
    • Vetting
    libya

    UN extends mandate on vessel inspections off Libya’s coast

    NCL Salten

    Inspection onboard NCL Salten reveals deficiencies

    India monsoon

    India: Mooring and anchoring during the Monsoon season

    hull

    Libya mandates underwater hull inspections

  • Others
    • All
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
    tariffs Trump

    US raises tariffs on steel and aliminum from 25% to 50%

    Northern Sea Route

    Russia expects 50% rise in Northern Sea Route transits

    South Africa

    South Africa revives plans to establish a national shipping line

    Panama Canal Authority

    Panama Canal experiences historic surge in container ship transits

  • Columns
    ethanol

    Ethanol makes its case in maritime decarbonisation

    crew welfare

    Proactive measures can transform crew wellbeing

    zombie vessels

    Zombie vessels and the grey fleet

    Trending Tags

    • Anchor Your Health
    • Book Review
    • Career Paths
    • Human Performance
    • Industry Voices
    • Interviews
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Regulatory Update
    • Resilience
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
    • Training & Development
    • Wellness Corner
    • Wellness Tips
  • Events
  • Plus
No Result
View All Result
SAFETY4SEA

Improperly manufactured keel leads yacht to capsize

by The Editorial Team
October 31, 2019
in Accidents, Shipping
tyger of london

Credit: YUK

FacebookTwitterEmailLinkedin

UK MAIB has published its report on the UK registered charter yacht, Tyger of London, whose keel failed suddenly on 7 December 2017 and the yacht capsized. The crew, all wearing lifejackets, were thrown into the water and rescued by the British Army yacht, St Barbara V.

The incident

On 7 December, the penultimate day of the charter period, the yacht left the harbour and headed east towards Tenerife into a fresh south-easterly force 5 breeze. Considering that it would be a rough passage, the crew wore lifejackets and secured their safety lines to the yacht. In addition, noting that the navigational track to Marina San Miguel was into wind, the skipper chose a passage plan that took the yacht almost due east to the coast of Tenerife before tacking south, in the lee of the island, towards Punta Rasca.

When the Tyger of London cleared the harbour, the crew hoisted and set the sails with a single reef in the main sail. Afterwards, as the wind strength increased and the yacht started to pitch in the 1-2m sea state, the skipper ordered a second reef to be put into the main sail.

RelatedNews

Lessons learned: Position your body correctly in confined spaces

ABS: 8 key steps for cybersecurity and operational readiness

[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]

During the passage the crew saw that water had seeped into the cabin through the forecastle hatch and cabin windows. With the yacht heeling to approximately 20º the electric bilge pump, positioned on the centreline, could not pump the water out, so the skipper bailed it out by hand.

A little later, Tyger of London’s skipper and crew saw another yacht, St Barbara V, approximately 1 mile ahead. As the wind had fallen to force 6, they decided to remove the second reef from the main sail to pass St Barbara V.

As Tyger of London cleared Punta Rasca, the wind backed to the east and increased to force 7. The skipper decided to reduce sail and ordered to put a second reef into the main sail. Once complete, the crew returned to the cockpit and remained clipped on with their safety harnesses. The helmsman then changed course to starboard to fill the sails. Tyger of London was approximately 200m to the east of St Barbara V.

A few minutes later, the crew heard a loud bang. The skipper thought that one of the shrouds had parted, while another member of the crew thought that a heavy object had fallen over in the cabin. However, Tyger of London heeled quickly to starboard, its mast and sails hit the water and then, after a brief pause, the yacht inverted.

As the vessel heeled over, the crew fell from the cockpit. Some of the crew struggled to unclip their lifelines. However, they all released themselves and, as they entered the water, their lifejackets inflated automatically. Four of the five crew quickly swam clear of the upturned yacht. One got trapped by the netted guardrails, but after 30-40 seconds managed to swim clear.

Probable cause

After an investigation, UK MAIB, concluded to the following as the most probable cause of the incident:

  • Tyger of London capsized without warning because its keel failed.
  • The keel failed because it had not been manufactured in accordance with the yacht’s design intent, and the quality of the welding during the manufacturing process did not meet recognised best practice.
  • Without detailed shop drawings from the boat builder, it was unlikely that the critical join between the keel plate and the keel rods would be correctly welded.
  • The design of the keel was complex and difficult to fabricate. As a result, the shipyard and fabricator made undocumented changes to the design to ease the manufacture of the stainless steel keel frame, unaware that these changes had weakened the join between the keel plate and internal keel rods.
  • Once the keel had been cast, the weakest point of the yacht’s keel could not be inspected, and in service the integrity of the keel could not be assessed.

Actions taken

Addressing lessons learned from the accident, UK MAIB:

  • Contacted the owners of UK registered Comar yachts that potentially had a similar keel design to Tyger of London.
  • Issued a Safety Bulletin making owners aware that the shallow draught lead keel ftted to a range of Comar yachts might not have been fabricated in accordance with the designer’s drawings.
  • The Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents wrote to British Marine recommending to the International Organisation for Standardisation that the requirement for ‘information connected with the risk of fooding and stability’, detailed in ISO 12215-9 (Small craft-Hull construction and scantlings – Part 9: Sailing craft appendages), be enhanced, at paragraph F2.4.2, to require, rather than recommend, manufacturers to provide clear guidance on the inspection method and procedure for keels in the owner’s manual.

As for British Marine, it:

Made the proposal at the ISO 10240 working group in June 2018. However, the consensus at the meeting was that, in light of British Marine’s and several other proposals, the international standard should instead be amended to require small craft owner’s manuals to:

Provide information, applicable to the craft type, for actions to be taken following a grounding of the craft

In addition, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency drafted a series of MGNs to provide improved guidance on keel inspection and the stowage of lifesaving appliances.

Finally, the Royal Yachting Association amended its annual letter to SCV owners and managers reminding them of the importance of reporting accidents to both themselves and the MAIB.

See further information in the PDF herebelow

Improperly manufactured keel leads yacht to capsize

Improperly manufactured keel leads yacht to capsizeImproperly manufactured keel leads yacht to capsize
Improperly manufactured keel leads yacht to capsizeImproperly manufactured keel leads yacht to capsize
Tags: accident reportslessons learnedsmUK MAIBvessel capsizesyachts
Previous Post

ECSA supports newly-launched partnership focusing on a zero-emission shipping

Next Post

EU opens in-depth investigation into Fincantieri’s Chantiers deal

Related News

ntsb investigation towing vessel
Accidents

NTSB Investigation: Towing vessel sinks in severe weather

June 4, 2025
Lessons learned
Accidents

Lessons learned: Steel plates should not be stowed in a vertically

June 4, 2025
lessons learned
Accidents

Lessons learned: If it is not secured it is not safe

June 3, 2025
lessons learned
Accidents

Lessons learned: Check equipment after vessel changes hands

June 3, 2025
lessons learned
Accidents

Lessons learned: Preberthing plan should not be underestimated

June 2, 2025
lessons learned
Accidents

Lessons learned: Fatigue reduces situational awareness

June 2, 2025

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Explore more

No Result
View All Result
MARITIME EVENTS

Explore

  • Safety
  • SEAFiT
  • Green
  • Smart
  • Risk
  • Others
  • SAFETY4SEA Events
  • SAFETY4SEA Plus Subscription

Useful Links

  • About
  • Disclaimer
  • Editorial Policies
  • Advertising
  • Content Marketing
  • Contact

© 2025 SAFETY4SEA

No Result
View All Result
  • Safety
    • Accidents
    • Alerts
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
  • SEAFiT
    • Intellectual
    • Mental
    • Physical
    • Social
    • Spiritual
  • Green
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
  • Smart
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
  • Risk
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Case Studies
    • PSC Focus
    • Vetting
  • Others
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
  • Columns
    • Anchor Your Health
    • Book Review
    • Career Paths
    • Human Performance
    • Industry Voices
    • Interviews
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Opinions
    • Regulatory Update
    • Resilience
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
    • Tip of the day
    • Training & Development
    • Wellness Corner
    • Wellness Tips
  • SAFETY4SEA Events
  • SAFETY4SEA Plus Subscription

© 2025 SAFETY4SEA

Manage your privacy
We use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. We do this to improve browsing experience and to show (non-) personalized ads. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Manage options
{title} {title} {title}
No Result
View All Result
  • Safety
    • Accidents
    • Alerts
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
  • SEAFiT
    • Intellectual
    • Mental
    • Physical
    • Social
    • Spiritual
  • Green
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
  • Smart
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
  • Risk
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Case Studies
    • PSC Focus
    • Vetting
  • Others
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
  • Columns
    • Anchor Your Health
    • Book Review
    • Career Paths
    • Human Performance
    • Industry Voices
    • Interviews
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Opinions
    • Regulatory Update
    • Resilience
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
    • Tip of the day
    • Training & Development
    • Wellness Corner
    • Wellness Tips
  • SAFETY4SEA Events
  • SAFETY4SEA Plus Subscription

© 2025 SAFETY4SEA