Sunk boat was vulnerable to flooding

'Bella' went down in Lynmouth

A boat that sank in the approaches to Lynmouth, causing its crew to abandoned into its liferaft was unfit to be on the water, a report has concluded.

The vessel, called Bella, was primarily designed for recreational use, but had been significantly modified by the addition of a heavy gantry, winch and multibeam echo sounder so it could undertake commercial work.

These modifications increased its vulnerability to flooding.

In moderate seas, it shipped water over the bow that made its way into the wheelhouse and then into the void space between the deck and the hull.

With no buoyant volume or in-built buoyancy, Bella succumbed to the water ingress and sank.

Now an investigation by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has identified weaknesses in the commercial certification applicable to Bella, which inappropriately resulted in it being certified as a workboat suitable for operations at sea, and in the owner’s safety management system.

The report found: 

• the survey workboat Bella was vulnerable to swamping, even in moderate sea conditions, because its multibeam echo sounder gantry, reduced its forward freeboard
• despite being issued with the necessary certification, Bella was not compliant with The Workboat Code; shortcomings in construction and means of flotation were missed during the certifying survey due to the surveyor’s overreliance on Recreational Craft Directive documentation
• Bella’s crew were inexperienced and underestimated the risk of operating the vessel in open sea and were guided by an ineffective safety management system
• the crew’s wearing of PFDs and familiarity with lifesaving equipment led to a safe and orderly abandonment

Fortunately, when it sank, Bella's crew escaped uninjured by a local boat owner and no pollution was caused.