Speedboat horror crash that killed Fareham teenager and left others seriously injured was “accident waiting to happen”, government investigation finds

The Marine Accident and Investigation Branch (MAIB) has called for lessons to be learnt following the tragic death of Emily Lewis, 15, of Park Gate. She suffered fatal injuries after the rigid inflatable boat (Rib) carrying herself and her family slammed into a buoy in Southampton Water on August 22, 2020. A number of other passengers were also seriously injured.

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Michael Lawrence, 55, of Blackfield, New Forest, who was driving the boat, was found not guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence. He was found guilty of failing to maintain a proper lookout and failing to proceed at a safe speed by the jury. Michael Howley, 52, of Hordle, the owner of Seadogz, the company which operated the boat trip, was convicted of not operating the boat safely. Both men were given 18-week prison sentences suspended for two years at Winchester Crown Court in March. They were also ordered to complete 125 hours of community services and pay £1,000 in court costs.

The MAIB report into the tragedy has now returned its findings and has called for a raft of changes to be made to avoid such a “tragedy” happening again. The key safety issues identified were the skipper not seeing the buoy in sufficient time to take avoiding action. He had “lost his positional awareness, most likely due to the high mental workload associated with operating at high-speed close to other marine assets”.

Seadogz’s seating and handholds “afforded little protection to those on board” in the event of a rapid deceleration. The RIB’s operating company did not have a safety management system, and their risk assessments were “cursory and generic”.

The MAIB report said the regulations did not consider high-speed operations of a small commercial craft. “Significant limitations were identified, including: crash protection; seat design; forward visibility, safety management system requirements,” it said.

Captain Andrew Moll OBE, chief inspector of Marine Accidents said: "The tragic events that took place in Southampton Water have had an unimaginable impact on all of those affected by the accident. The fact that a passenger excursion on a modern rigid inflatable boat (RIB) being operated in favourable conditions by an appropriately qualified and highly experienced skipper could result in such terrible consequences is difficult to comprehend.

"Two things are especially significant about this tragic accident in which 15-year-old Emily Lewis sadly died and the other passengers all sustained injuries, many of which were serious: The first is that the accident would likely not have happened had the trip been conducted in line with industry good practice. All skippers of commercial high-speed craft are taught safe boat handling while gaining their qualifications, and there is no excuse for abandoning professional standards when undertaking a high-speed trip or experience ride.

"The second is that passengers in small high-speed craft are very vulnerable to impact and vibration injuries. In the last 15 years, the MAIB has investigated numerous accidents involving high-speed passenger craft and made various recommendations to improve the safety of this sector. However, as yet, little has been done to provide proper protection to passengers and crew from these hazards that routinely result in life-changing injury and, occasionally, death.

"I am therefore hoping that the maritime regulator, manufacturers and operators of small high-speed passenger craft will take the lessons from this report as a stimulus to action. As the report says, this was an accident waiting to happen. Let it be the last."

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency was recommended to in future conduct operational requirements for small high-speed passenger craft safety to develop a framework for passenger protection. The agency was also requested to ensure operators of such craft implement a robust safety management system.

The British Ports Association, the UK Harbour Masters’ Association, and the UK Major Ports Group are recommended to contribute to the development of guidance for their members clarifying the requirements and best practices for the oversight of small commercial craft operating in their areas of responsibility.

Associated British Ports Southampton is recommended to ensure that its risk assessments consider the operation of high-speed small commercial passenger craft within the port limits. And secondly, to establish an agreement with any operator of high-speed small commercial passenger craft, where ABP Southampton is not able to issue a licence to the operator, to assure the proper use of the craft within the port limits.

Red Bay Boats Ltd is recommended to conduct a risk-based review of the design of the small commercial high-speed craft that it manufactures and undertake any required modifications.

More details on the report can be found here.

At the trial, it was heard that Seadogz had received three complaints from passengers suffering back injuries in 10 years – with one person injured during a ride in 2012 receiving a £300,000 payout.