Red Funnel should no longer arrive or depart from their East Cowes terminal if visibility drops below 370 metres.
Cowes Harbour Commission has issued a temporary general direction which states that vessels over 48 metres should not navigate in the Inner Fairway or River Medina if visibility is 2 cables (0.2nm or 370.4m) or less.
This new direction also affects vessels such as the wind turbine ‘MTB Blade Runner Two’ ship – but it doesn’t affect Red Funnel’s hi-speed Red Jet, which comes in at under 41m.
The new rule has been put in place as a result of 2 recent incidents involving Red Funnel’s car ferries in foggy conditions – 1 of which hit the international news headlines when Red Falcon ran aground off East Cowes last month.
Red Funnel’s captains will have to come to a stop if heavy fog or significant driving rain limits their visibility, which could result in more regular disruption to the East Cowes to Southampton car ferry service.
Cowes Harbour Commission say that if masters or pilots deviate from this new rule then they shall record the reasons for doing so and inform Cowes Harbour Master as soon as reasonably practicable. Any deviation from this new general direction should be based on the result of a dynamic risk assessment, taking into account all considerations and any special circumstances that support the Master’s or Pilot’s decision.
A local notice to all mariners has also been issued strongly advising smaller boats not to depart their berths if visibility is 2 cables or less. However, vessels may proceed at the skipper’s discretion but are advised to do so with extreme caution.
If the Harbour Master, or a duly authorised representative, has reason to believe that a vessel may not be equipped to safely enter, leave or transit in conditions of restricted visibility, they may direct that vessel to a safe anchorage or instruct it to remain alongside.
Investigations into both the September and October collisions are now underway involving Red Funnel, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the Maritime Accident Investigation Branch and Cowes Harbour Commission.
Capt. Stuart McIntosh, Cowes Harbour Master, has said:
“Cowes Harbour Commission’s number one priority is safety in the harbour. CHC takes these incidents extremely seriously and is prioritising the investigation to ensure that lessons will be learned and any actions or recommendations to further improve safety will be implemented as soon as possible.
“I confirm that CHC is working closely and with the full cooperation of Red Funnel’s senior management team on these investigations into recent incidents in the harbour, and also assisting the MCA and MAIB with their investigations.”
