It has been confirmed by the Maritime Accident Investigation Branch that the mezzanine deck of Wightlink’s St Helen vessel fell from a height of 2 metres after a hoisting cable parted.
As first reported by Island Echo on Friday, part of the moving mezzanine deck on the St Helen collapsed as it was being lowered to enable vehicles travelling on the upper deck to unload. Four people were taken to hospital for treatment but have since all been discharged.
Now, the Island’s MP, Andrew Turner, has raised the incident with the new Minister responsible for Maritime issues, John Hayes MP.
Investigations into what happened have begun, but it typically take 6-8 months before a final report is issued by the Marine Accident Investigation Board (MAIB), a branch of the Department for Transport. Mr Turner has asked that the Minister ensures that the report is issued as quickly as possible saying:
“Everybody is thankful that this did not lead to more serious injuries, but nonetheless it must have been really frightening for all involved. Many people are alarmed that this could have happened at all, and are asking whether there is a failsafe system in place. It is also being said that the St Helen passed an independent engineering assessment as recently as May.
“The MAIB acted very quickly in starting a full investigation, and we all understand these things take time to investigate properly. Hundreds of thousands of people use the ferries every year; they are the lifeline to the Island and people need to be reassured they are safe. I have therefore asked the Minister to do all he can to get the formal MAIB report published as quickly as possible. In the meantime the Maritime and Coastguard Agency will have to certify the St Helen as safe before she can be used again. There is nothing more important than the safety of passengers. We now need as much information as possible from Wightlink to reassure the travelling public.
“I am also concerned that differing accounts of the accident have been circulating – so I have asked the MAIB to supply me with some further details which are copied below”.
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A spokesperson for the Maritime Accident Investigation Branch confirmed to Mr Turner:
“St Helen was berthed at Fishbourne and was in the process of disembarking its passengers and their vehicles. The vehicles on the starboard main deck had been disembarked and the deck crew were in the process of lowering the forward edge of the starboard forward mezzanine deck to the main deck level. There were about 10 cars on the forward section of the starboard mezzanine deck; the passengers were seated in their cars and one crewman was positioned on the forward outboard edge of the deck.
“When the front edge of the suspended mezzanine deck was around 2m off the main deck, its inboard hoisting cable parted. The forward inboard edge of the mezzanine deck then dropped to the main deck level causing the crewman and three passengers (seated in their cars) to be injured. The crewman suffered concussion and a cut to the head; the passengers are understood to have suffered whiplash related injuries.
At this early stage the investigation is focussing on the cause of the wire failure, the company’s inspection and maintenance regime, deck operations and any other associated factors identified during the course of the investigation”.
Regulations prevent any further information being disclosed from the formal accident reports made in accordance with the Merchant Shipping (Accident Reporting and Investigation) Regulations 2012.
