Safety Lessons from Marine Incident Investigation (AMSA Report) No.35 – June 2025

Excessive speed leads to collision and passenger injuries

Overview

A passenger vessel travelling at speed collided with a cliff face resulting in serious injuries to passengers and major structural damage to the vessel.

What happened

A passenger vessel with 25 passengers and 2 crew onboard was conducting an eco-tour early in the morning when the vessel entered a narrow gap at speed. The master attempted to align the vessel to navigate through the gap, however the vessel turned to port and collided into the western side cliff face of the gap resulting in serious injuries to passengers and major structural damage to the vessel.

Investigation findings

At the time of the incident, the vessel was travelling at a speed in excess of that required to safely navigate the narrow gap between the cliffs. The vessel's speed caused it to track along the junction of high and low-pressure areas. Either singularly or aided by alterations in the course made by the master, the conditions influenced the path of the vessel towards the cliff face. At the speed the vessel was travelling the master could not take proper and effective action to avoid collision.

Prior to operating the vessel, the safety management system (SMS) required a number of steps to be taken to ensure practical and written assessments were undertaken by the master and relevant sign offs completed and recorded. There was no evidence that these elements of the SMS were met.

It was reasonably practicable for the owner to ensure that the requirements of the SMS were met before allowing the master to skipper the vessel as it attempted to traverse the narrow gap or not permit them to do so until the requirements were met.

Safety message

The SMS is there to ensure that risks are properly identified, controlled and monitored, clear procedures and training requirements are in place, and compliance with relevant legislation continue to be maintained.

Knowledge and understanding by all crew of the SMS is part of a thorough induction process. Furthermore, implementing and complying with the SMS is crucial for ensuring the safety of a vessel, its crew and passengers. Both the master and owner have clear responsibilities in this regard.