Channel Queen – Grounded at Sea

The recent MAIB report on the investigation of the grounding of swim support motor vessel, Channel Queen, near the Needles lighthouse, throughs up passage planning lessons all of us need to remember.

On 20 July 2023, the UK registered motor vessel Channel Queen grounded as it passed over the wreck of the steam ship Varvassi near the Needles lighthouse, Isle of Wight, England while escorting a relay swim event around the island. Channel Queen was then deliberately beached in nearby Scratchell’s Bay.

The passengers and crew abandoned Channel Queen to its rigid inflatable boat and a liferaft and were then transferred to a Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat. Channel Queen was subsequently declared a total loss.

The investigation found that there was no charted navigational passage plan; effective use was not being made of the available navigation equipment to execute a safe passage; the qualified skipper had departed the vessel to a kayak before Channel Queen grounded; and the vessel was being driven by Channel Queen’s owner, who was insufficiently qualified to be in command.

The key safety issues identified were:

• The risks associated with ineffective passage planning were not considered before the voyage commenced. The skipper’s passage plan did not provide a sound basis for the safe circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight while providing swim support close inshore.
• The skipper and owner prioritised the swim event over the safe navigation of the vessel. When the vessel grounded, the skipper had left the vessel after a very brief handover to the owner, who was insufficiently qualified to command and was attempting to deal with multiple distractions single-handedly.
• The skipper disembarking to the kayak had become a normalised procedure during previous swim support events. Both the owner and the skipper had overlooked the requirement for the vessel to always remain under the command of an appropriately qualified crew member when underway.

MAIB case safety recommendations:

• Implement a process to ensure that any vessel operated by Swimon, or engaged from a third party to support its events, is crewed by sufficient numbers of personnel suitably qualified for the intended area of operation and that they remain on board at all times when underway.
• Review the method of navigation passage planning used on board any vessel it operates to ensure that recommended practice is followed, including making appropriate use of charts and charting systems.
• Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents, Andrew Moll OBE, said: “Once the hull of Channel Queen was holed it was fortunate that the boat was beached before it could sink, which gave the occupants time to disembark safely. In only slightly different circumstances the outcome could have been much more serious. The four stages of passage planning: appraisal, planning, execution and monitoring, are well tried and tested. Had they been followed during this event, particularly as Channel Queen was operating very close inshore, the accident could have been avoided.”