Hefty Speeding Fine in Falmouth Harbour

A boat owner caught on Falmouth Harbour’s CCTV system operating at 18 knots, almost three times the 6 knot inner harbour limit during a busy summer’s day, has been ordered to pay £3,061 in fines and costs by Magistrates sitting in Truro.

The man, a visitor to the Harbour, pleaded guilty to navigating a RIB over the speed limit, unnecessarily navigating through moorings and failing to navigate with care and caution during the incident in July 2023.

“The safety and wellbeing of all Falmouth Harbour water users is at the heart of our operations and as a Trust Port we have legal responsibilities to people, property, wildlife and the environment,” says Falmouth Harbour Master, Miles Featherstone. “There are speed restrictions within Harbour limits for very good reason and while it gives us no pleasure to take anyone to court, we are sending out a message that in extreme cases like this we, as a Harbour Authority, can and will prosecute offenders. We want all Harbour users to enjoy themselves, but to do so safely.”

“We record movements in the Harbour 24/7, because unfortunately some people – either wilfully or through ignorance of the regulations – routinely break our Harbour byelaws,” says Miles Featherstone. “Ignorance of the regulations that are there to keep people safe is no defence, since it’s a skipper’s duty to check local rules before they set out, all of which are available on our website. Speed is proven to be a major factor in many marine accidents through collision or excessive wake. There have been a number of recent boating fatalities, proven to have been caused by excessive speed. So clearly your speed needs to be kept low when you’re manoeuvring in a harbour where there are hundreds of boats on moorings, large commercial and leisure vessels on the move, wildlife, and people swimming off quays and beaches.” Stated, Featherstone. “The CCTV images in this case were clear, so that as well as providing evidence of the speed of the vessel through the Inner Harbour it showed that at one point the driver was using his mobile phone, he was not using a kill-cord, and no one on the boat was wearing a life-jacket.

Falmouth Harbour’s new high-definition CCTV system is specifically designed to monitor water-borne speed and behaviour with a mind to keeping people, wildlife and property safer. This incident last summer is the first time it has been used by the Falmouth Harbour Authority in a prosecution.

Find out more about Falmouth Harbour in our Ports of Call feature.

Falmouth Harbour Website