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Deadly ferry crash in Hong Kong caused by human errors

Hong Kong's Commission of Inquiry into causes behind the deadly ferry collision on Oct. 1 continued its hearing on Thursday Dec. 13, 2012, with a British maritime expert saying the accident resulted from human errors. British Captain Nigel Robert Pryke told the inquiry that the Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry -- "Sea Smooth" -- was "primarily responsible" for the collision, local media reported. Pryke said that "Sea Smooth" captain had taken a port tack around one minute before the collision, which was in clear contravention of international maritime regulations. Related regulations stipulate that two vessels, which might collide, should take a starboard tack to avoid collision. Pryke also said the captain of the Lamma IV, which was carrying more than 100 people to see the National Day fireworks in the Victoria Harbor and sank shortly after the collision, was not blameless. He said the skipper did not take positive action in time to avoid the collision. Thirty-nine people were killed and nearly 100 others injured in the ferry collision, which was the most serious maritime accident in Hong Kong in the last 40 years.

Unsafe speed believed to have caused deadly collision in Hongkong

The investigation into the collision of the "Sea Smooth" will try to find out why the "Lamma IV" sank so fast. The vessel was towed to Nga Kau Wan on the northern bay of Lamma island. It sustained a 3.04-meter gaping hole on its side and was leaking oil. An oil-proof net was put around its perimeter to contain the spill. As a result of the probe may take six months, safety guidelines for commercial pleasure craft could be altered. Another focus of the investigation is whether any of the crew had breached regulationsand it will be checked if there were sufficient safety equipment onboard. The "Sea Smooth" remained docked at the Yung Shue Wan pier. Prakash Metaparti, a master mariner and assistant professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies, said he believes either one or both vessels were going at an unsafe speed. It would be fairly simple to estimate the speed of the vessels and the path they took a few minutes before the collision through the Marine Department's radar recordings of the entire harbor traffic. It was believed the "Lamma IV" sank because it was hit on the side toward the back part of the ship.

Probe into fatal Hong Kong ferry collision may take six months

Hong Kong authorities began inspecting the wreckage of a leisure ship on Wednesday amid questions over how a collision with a commuter ferry in relatively calm weather could have killed 38 people in one of the city's worst accidents in recent decades. The exact circumstances surrounding the crash remain unclear, but television footage showed the party ship suffered a massive hole in its rear hull, which saw it partially sink, and the ferry a severely damaged bow, suggesting they may have been passing each other in the night. The director of Hong Kong's Marine Department, Francis Liu, told Hong Kong's Cable Television that the probe could take six months and would look at why one boat sank so quickly and whether or not the boat violated safety specifications. Read more at http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/business/a/-/world/15027385/probe-into-fatal-hong-kong-ferry-collision-may-take-six-months/