Pressure has mounted on the UK Government to assess high-speed thrill rides after a 15-year-old girl died in a speedboat crash.
Emily Lewis died after the rigid inflatable boat (Rib) Seadogz crashed with a 4.5m-high navigation buoy. Her inquest on Thursday produced a narrative finding that highlighted problems raised by the Marine Accident probe Branch (MAIB) throughout its investigation into the crash, reports the Mirror.
At the Winchester hearing on Thursday, the coroner stated that he will write to the Secretary of State for Transport, requesting a reform of high-speed thrill ride laws. Several passengers were hurt as a result of the crash, which threw Emily forward from her bench seat. The inquest this week heard that she sustained upper abdominal injuries in the incident in Southampton Water.
And Henry Charles, assistant coroner for Hampshire, Portsmouth, and Southampton, cited the captain’s lack of visibility from the helm, which was located at the rear of the ship, as well as the fact that the skipper was operating the Rib alone, with not any additional crew members to maintain watch. He stated that this contradicted the Small Commercial Vessels (SCV) Code.
Mr Charles said on Thursday: “The skipper lost positional awareness in the moments before the accident. This was most likely due to a combination of being desensitised to the risks of the high-speed Rib operations and high mental workload of operating Seadogz alone and in the vicinity of other marine assets.”
Other faults raised were improper seating and handholds employed on the Rib to assist passengers in bracing and avoiding harm, as well as the company’s risk assessment, which Mr Charles described as “cursory and generic”.
The inquest heard that Seadogz had been involved in three previous similar accidents, from which Mr Charles claimed no lessons had been learnt and cited the MAIB. He went on to say that the events of August 22, 2020 were “an accident waiting to happen”.
Mr Charles said that there was a “patchwork” of regulations for the maritime industry that was “complex and subject to interpretation”. He explained that for his report to prevent future deaths, he would be writing to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Secretary of State for Transport and other regulatory agencies.
Mr Charles said the MAIB had raised concerns that the sector lacked “appropriate standards and oversight” despite previous fatal incidents.
He said: “It is perhaps startling that it is not until next year that a consultation document to review the SCV regulations will be issued with no clear evidence on when it will be concluded and regulations revised. That leaves the MAIB recommendations unanswered and not implemented.”
Dominique Smith, counsel for Emily’s family, had urged the coroner to return a conclusion of unlawful killing. She said: “We say the skipper’s conduct falls squarely into the realms of jaw-dropping, exceptionally bad negligence from the start of Emily’s journey on the Rib that day to the end.”
Michael Lawrence, 55, who was driving the boat, was found not guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence, but guilty of failing to maintain a proper lookout and failing to proceed at a safe speed.
Michael Howley, 52, the owner of the now defunct Seadogz which ran the boat trips, was convicted of not operating the boat safely. They were both sentenced at Winchester Crown Court in March 2023 to 18 weeks in custody suspended for two years, ordered to complete 125 hours of community service and pay £1,000 of court costs.
Emily’s parents, Simon and Nikki, and sister Amy, said in a statement after the hearing: “We are disappointed that the coroner did not come to a conclusion of unlawful killing but we appreciate his narrative describes the appalling events of August 22 2020 in great detail.
“Mr Lawrence has never truly faced justice for his actions and once again he has failed to properly accept and acknowledge his role in the death of our beloved daughter, Emily.
“We are, however, encouraged that the coroner has identified lessons to be learned to prevent something like this happening again. In the coroner’s own words, he said Emily’s death ‘was not only a tragedy to you, I think it was a tragedy for society’.”
They said that they awaited the response from the Transport Secretary “with interest”. They added: “Nothing can bring our Emily back. We miss her every day.
“We take solace in knowing that her death is not meaningless and we are confident that another family like ours will not go through the same tragedy as we did.”
Captain Emma Tiller, MAIB investigator, told the hearing that the Rib, which was fully certified, had been carrying out a “thrill” ride for the 11 passengers at speeds in excess of 40 knots.
According to Cpt Tiller, the route entailed making close passes of buoys and crossing the Red Falcon ferry’s wake five times. At 38.4 knots, the Rib collided with the North West Netley buoy shortly after the Isle of Wight ferry made its fifth pass.
Lawrence had 14 seconds to detect the buoy, but he did not do so and did not take any evasive measure. A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “This is a tragic incident, and our thoughts remain with Emily’s loved ones. The Transport Secretary will await the coroner’s letter and respond in the appropriate manner in due course.”
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