The MAIB has issued an accident investigation report into the lifeboat davit failure aboard RRS Sir David Attenborough. On the 4 March 2021, the port lifeboat from RRS Sir David Attenborough fell into the water while the crew were practising lifeboat drills. The investigation found that a critical interlock device on the lifeboat davits had heavily corroded due to lack of maintenance. The interlock failed to operate correctly and subsequently caused the lifeboat to fall from the davit and into the sea with three crew on board. It also found that the installation of the lifeboat davits was not in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and did not meet international regulations. Continue reading “RRS Sir David Attenborough lifeboat davit failure report issued”
The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (
At about 0300 on 18 February 2021, a deckhand fell overboard from the twin rig stern trawler Copious (LK 985) approximately 30 nautical miles south-east of the Shetland Islands. The deckhand was conscious, wearing a lifejacket and was quickly brought alongside the vessel. However, the crew’s attempts to recover the casualty back on board were unsuccessful. He was unresponsive when recovered from the water by a coastguard helicopter and pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.
At about 0736 on 28 August 2021, the owner and skipper of the lone-operated creel fishing vessel Harriet J accidentally entered the water while shooting the fishing gear. The unmanned vessel motored away and the skipper was neither able to reboard the vessel nor call for assistance. There were no witnesses to the accident and the alarm was raised by the skipper of another fishing vessel working in the area, who observed the unmanned vessel at 0745.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch has published the MAIB Safety Digest April 2023, the first of its two biannual publications featuring a wide selection of case studies.
Now, a Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) report is recommending that racing yacht owners should ensure their auxiliary engines provide the necessary power for their craft to make a safe passage. In addition, the MCIB says risks associated with refuelling outboards at sea need to be highlighted.
Andrew Moll OBE, Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents at the
On 27 January 2021, the whelk potter Nicola Faith capsized and sank 1.9 miles north of Rhos-on-Sea, North Wales with the loss of its three crew members. The vessel had been extensively modified during its life which had significantly reduced its margin of positive stability. On the day of the accident the Nicola Faith had been loaded with catch and retrieved strings of pots to the point of instability, which resulted in the capsize and subsequently sinking of the vessel. Nicola Faith had not been fitted with a mandatory emergency beacon to alert to the capsize, and it was not reported as overdue until 1000 the next day. Following its salvage by the MAIB, a thorough inspection of the vessel was carried out to determine possible modes of capsize 
Early in the morning on 21 November 2020, the scallop dredger Joanna C capsized south of Newhaven, England; only one of the three crew survived. Joanna C’s crew was hauling the gear when they noticed that the starboard dredge bar had become snagged on a line of whelk pots. The snag caused a heel to starboard from which the vessel could not recover, and it capsized rapidly.
