Report released on Condor ferry crash

[rich]

A damning report on the fatal Condor ferry collision last March has been released by the French Accident Investigation Bureau.

It reveals senior officers failed to spot the french trawler on the ferry's radar screen.

And bridge officers chatted about trivia minutes before slicing the trawler in two in thick fog.

The collision between the fishing boat and the Condor Vitesse ferry killed french fisherman Philippe Lesaulnier, who was 42, and wounded two others.

So far no charges have been brought, but French law as opposed to Jersey law stipulates a corporate manslaughter charge - which could seek to hold Condor's management rather than an individual to account.

Below: The French Accident Investigation Bureau summary.

Condor Vitesse sailed from Saint-Malo in thick fog conditions; the fog horn had been
inactivated very early and the visual lookout had not been strengthened. The speed had
progressively reached 37 knots.

In the wheelhouse almost continuous talks without any link with the watchkeeping,
maintained an atmosphere not compatible with the necessary concentration to conduct a HSC in
the fog.

This behavior, as well as the visibility are the causal factors of the accident.
When Condor Vitesse approached the Minquiers waters, both officers did not detect
2 vessel echoes ahead on starboard, the first was a ship that would be passing at a hundred of
meters on starboard, the second was Les.Marquises.

The potter was fishing, with her radar on, without emitting any sound signals. A hand
saw the HSC at the last moment but too late to alert the skipper. The collision cut the fishing
vessel in two parts, while on board the HSC there was a leak in the starboard bow compartment.
The aft part of the potter kept afloat for a time, allowing the two hands to stay on it
until they have been rescued by the HSC crew.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

The French blame the British then. That's unusual. I can't help feeling that an experienced trawler skipper should not have put his boat in a known fast ferry route in zero vis at a time when he should have known a ferry was due. And if he was keeping a radar watch, why didn't he detect the approaching ferry and take avoiding action? Also why wasn't the trawler fitted with AIS given that it was regularly fishing in shipping channels. Agreed that the skipper and crew of the Vitesse are largely to blame for the collision but surely the trawler skipper knowingly put his boat in a dangerous position and therefore must shoulder some of the responsibility

 

[volvopaul]

In my opinion why would a professional passenger ferry skipper do 37 knots in the fog, would it have been better to be late than never syndrome. A great example of profit before safety

 

[paultallett]

It sounds like a very sad tail.

A fast ferry doing 37 knots in bad viz, neither party using sound signals, poor look out.......

The only thing for sure is one family has lost a son, husband or dad that need not have happened.

 

[henryf]

The problem is how slow would you have to go on the ferry to be safe? If you dropped from 37 to 20 knots I'm not sure it would have made any difference to the final impact.

I am surprised that the radar didn't pick them up / wasn't paid attention to. From my own experience in fog when the sea tends to be relatively calm, I have managed to achieve fantastic radar results regularly changing ranges to improve target information and accuracy.

Complacency no doubt set in and the results were as reported. As was said earlier from the fishing boat's perspective I would also have been glued to the radar as I am when in the Solent for fear of being run down by a large commercial vessel. I work on the principal of giving way to everything and everyone in fog!

A sad incident and something I wouldn't want to have to live with on my conscience.

Henry

 

[jfm]

I kinda agree with Deleted User. Rich, do you have a link to the actual report? The passage you quoted doesn't feel like an absolute verbatim quote, judging by the syntax/punctuation, and it might even be a translation from French (I don't know what language the accident report was released in).

 

[epervier]

In my opinion why would a professional passenger ferry skipper do 37 knots in the fog, would it have been better to be late than never syndrome. A great example of profit before safety

+1

very sad day for all.

 

[rich]

Report from http://www.channelonline.tv/channelonline_jerseynews/displayarticle.asp?id=496579

More here but all in French,http://www.beamer-france.org/BanqueDocument/pdf_289.pdf

 

[guernseyman]

The French blame the British then.

According to the report in the Guernsey Press this morning, both the captain and the chief officer of the Condor are French.

A decision on the trial proceedings will be announced in November.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

According to the report in the Guernsey Press this morning, both the captain and the chief officer of the Condor are French.

Condor is a British owned company

 

[StewartC]

Report from http://www.channelonline.tv/channelonline_jerseynews/displayarticle.asp?id=496579

More here but all in French,http://www.beamer-france.org/BanqueDocument/pdf_289.pdf

There is an English version after the French one in that report you linked to.

 

[jfm]

Chilling reading

Fishing boat was clearly on Condor's short range radar display from 0840 till impact shortly after 0842. It was on the long range display for even longer. During that time the voice recorder shows no proper action was being taken on condor's bridge. Very far from it in fact: I bet most of us amateurs would have better conversations in forg/darkness between 2 of us guys on our bridges than Condor's crew,did and that's in pleasure boats at 20kts. Foghorn had been turned off becuase the bridge crew didn't like the noise. Much culpabuility on the officers of condor.

Nevetheless, the fishing boat apparently had no radar lookout either and was in the path of a fast ferry running to timetable, which means its captain shares blame

On the nationality thing, Captain of condor was french, vessel was bahamas flagged, operated by a Uk company. The report is in French then transalted officially into English (scroll to seconf half), though it is clear that the English half is not mother tongue quality translation so the French half is more reliable

Chilling reading though

 

[Jim@sea]

Sods Law

I can't help feeling that an experienced trawler skipper should not have put his boat in a known fast ferry route in zero vis at a time plus surely the trawler skipper knowingly put his boat in a dangerous position and therefore must shoulder some of the responsibility

Not that what I am going to suggest may have a bearing on the accident but St Malo is tidal and the main operator from the Port is Brittany Ferries and Condor have to work around them. Every blue moon (perhaps twice a year or less) the BF Ferry is unable to leave when they normally do, due to low water so they leave more than an hour earlier. which as Condor goes out "Before" the BF boat this could result in the Condor Ferry tearing along through fog perhaps 75 minutes before expected. The fishing skipper being used to the Condor ferry leaving at say 08.30 would not expect to be run over at 07.15. Although this tidal anomaly may have nothing at all to do with the accident its sometimes simple things which are overlooked.

 

[guernseyman]

Chilling reading.
....

Nevetheless, the fishing boat apparently had no radar lookout either and was in the path of a fast ferry running to timetable, which means its captain shares blame

On the nationality thing, Captain of condor was french, vessel was bahamas flagged, operated by a Uk company.

On my reading of the report, the captain decided to go eastabout Les Minquiers, not the usual route, and through a known new fishing ground.

While the fishing boat captain should have known of the possibility of the Condor going that way, he may not have expected it to be travelling at that speed and in winds that would carry away the noise of the Condor's engines. And he would not expect the Condor crew to be chatting about women in foggy conditions instead of observing their radar.

While I hope the Condor crew get exemplary punishment, pour encourager les autres, I fear it won't do any good. The frequency with which commercial vessels crash into Guernsey suggests that there is no effective grapevine amongst that fraternity.

AFAIK Condor is operated by a Guernsey company.

 

[[2068]]

Link to report with an english version in the second half:

http://www.beamer-france.org/BanqueDocument/pdf_290.pdf

 

[pappaecho]

I was in Jersey the following week, having come from Poole in bright sunlight on a Condor ferry, which was doing 39 knots, according to the telemetry on board.

Assuming say 100 yds visability, it would be sheer lunacy to travel at that speed, because even if spotted by a lookout, by the time the alerts was sounded, and evasive action taken place it would be far too late.

I dont think there is any French- British stand off. The skipper was travelling far too fast, for the conditions, and clearly not using his radar properly, resulting in a death, which could have been very easily avoided.

I sincerely hope that charges follow .. it was madness and could easily could have been one of this forum

 

[Hardmy]

I was also astonished to read what was actually happening on the bridge of MV Condor. I spent 10-11 entire passages (including at night) on the bridge of either french or Greek conventional passenger ferries and I found the crew well focused on their tasks. It happens that one officer does some paperwork without leaving his workplace behind de consoles during day passage or some short private discussions starts. But an ABS is always keeping a constant visual lookout, and officers change the range of the radar in order to detect smaller spots on a regular basis.

On a rather bumpy night passage from Ajaccio to Marseille, the master appeared every 45 minutes, he also called once the OOW over the phone to ask if everything was OK. During his presence on the bridge, nobody dared to start a conversation not related to the vessel's navigation. They were quite formal in their way to communicate (one info=one acknowledgment):
ABS: Embarcation de taille modeste sur 2 heures (uses his binocular).
OOW: Vu. Merci.
OOW: Je ne le vois pas au radar (tries to change the resolution of the radar ). Ni sur l'AIS d'ailleurs.
OOW: Quelle route fait-il?
ABS: Il disparaît entre chaque creux de vague, j'aperçois son feu Babord.
OOW: OK, je corrige le cap à XXX°.
ABS: Compris
ABS: Souhaitez-vous l'appelez sur le 16?
OOW: Non, pas maintenant. Gardez-le à l'oeil, car le radar n'arrive pas à le voir.
Phone is ringing (the master is on the phone): Que se passe-t-il?
OOW: J'ai changé le cap à XXX° parce que ...

On Greek ferries. I witnessed that the Master was always on the bridge during night passages, besides of course the an OOW and 2 ABS on this shift. The Master was sleeping in his pacha-seat, but wasn't in deep sleep. He emerged every time where some small event occur, but without taking action. I think, only his presence would disciplines his crew.

So based on my few observation, we cannot generalize the behaviour as it happened on the bridge team of MV Condor...

 

[JSYmartini]

I can confirm it was a French crew on the Vitesse, I heard the initial mayday call. Can also confirm the viz was practically nil, they certainly wouldn't have been able to see past the bows. I started to make my way down there in the rib but I don't have radar, once I hit the fog bank proper I bottled it, it was as bad as I've ever seen. There was a few vessels converging on the casualty location by this time and I didn't want to make the situation worse.

I just can't fathom how someone can be stood on the bridge of a vessel that size, going that speed, in that viz and be too busy chatting about last nights telly to look where they're going? I'd be sh***ing myself

 

[discovery2]

Unable to Download Report

Is anyone able to currently view the report online - or has the report been removed?
All the links, even typing the website manually, returns a message 'this page cannot be displayed'.

Has anyone downloaded the pdf file they could send please?
Send me a pm and I will provide an e-mail address if necessary.

 

[Bandit]

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