TIGER

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Skipper of water taxi suffering from amnesia

The skipper of the water taxi 'Stormloper' cannot remember the collision with the Tiger. He suffers from a form of amnesia. This became clear on Aug 5 at the start of the criminal case into the accident on the Wadden Sea on Oct 21, 2022, which claimed the lives of four people on board. He told the court in Leeuwarden that he only remembers leaving Harlingen and contacting the speedboat via the radio near Terschelling. The next moment he was hanging from the bow of the boat, said the 35-year-old Kornelis P. from Harlingen. He was injured. The speedboat was sailing at a speed of 55 kilometers per hour just before the accident, the water taxi almost 30 kilometers per hour. In the Schuitengat, the shipping channel near Terschelling where the accident occurred, a speed limit of 20 kilometers per hour applies. An audio recording of the radio conversation prior to the collision was played in court. The captain of the 'Tiger' warned the oncoming 'Stormloper' that it would be better to pass the speedboat on the unusual starboard side. "I picked up the radio to find out what his intentions were. He was already on the red side before me," said Z. During the radio conversation, the men couldn't reach an agreement because the water taxi skipper was unresponsive. According to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), the skipper made an "incomprehensible and unsafe steering movement" at the last moment, leaving the ferry captain no choice but to run over the water taxi. In court, the relatives called on the skipper and captain to acknowledge their mistakes. "How difficult can it be to take responsibility for your mistakes," said the woman who lost both her 46-year-old husband and her 12-year-old son in the collision. "In the police report, you state that you believe you demonstrated good seamanship, but you don't know that you're not allowed to sail faster than 20 kilometers per hour in the Schuitengat. Does not knowing the rules qualify as good seamanship?" she asked the suspects, who are on trial for manslaughter. The woman from Sexbierum, Friesland, expects her missing son will never return. The wife and son of the 49-year-old victim from Tjalleberd also exercised their right to speak. He was found 16 days later on the Groene Strand beach on Terschelling. The woman called the collision a disaster resulting from a series of mistakes: "Your actions and reflection show that you are incompetent, incapable, and incompetent as skipper and captain. In my view, you are guilty of the deaths of three men and a child. You are not fit to perform this skill and good seamanship. I would never entrust human lives to these individuals again." The Public Prosecution Service demanded 180 hours of community service for both suspects. The prosecutor also requested three-month suspended prison sentences. Because they were sailing too fast, they are both accused of manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm. "If both suspects had followed the rules, this accident would not have happened," the prosecutors said regarding the behaviour of skipper Kees P. and Arco Z. "Both could have prevented the collision." They sailed "carelessly and negligently." The lawyer for the captain of the speedboat argued for his client's acquittal. According to the defense, the speed limit in the Schuitengat is not posted anywhere, and the captain could not have been aware of it. Moreover, he tried to contact the skipper of the approaching water taxi in time via the radio.

Captain appealed community service order imposed for fatal collision

The captain of the 'Tiger has appealed the community service order imposed on him by the court for the fatal collision in the Wadden Sea. Whether the appeal will proceed will be decided at a later date. The ferry had collided with the water taxi 'Stormloper' in the Schuitengat near Terschelling in the early morning of Oct 21, 2022. Four people on board the water taxi were killed. The body of one of them, a 12-year-old boy, was never found. The court in Leeuwarden sentenced both the captain of the speedboat and the skipper of the water taxi to 240 hours of community service and a three-month suspended prison sentence. According to the court, both boats were speeding. The skippers also failed to communicate effectively via radio about how they would pass each other. The Public Prosecution Service had demanded 180 hours of community service for both, in addition to three-month suspended prison sentences. The defense has already filed an appeal to meet the statutory two-week deadline, attorney Tjalling van der Goot announced on the website of the law firm Anker en Anker on July 31, 2025- The captain's lawyer stated that he intends to "carefully advise his client regarding the possibilities of an appeal" after the summer holidays.

The Public Prosecution Service on July 8 demanded 180 hours of community service for both accused

The Public Prosecution Service on July 8 demanded 180 hours of community service for the captain of the 'Tiger' and the skipper of the water taxi 'Stormloper', who were involved in the fatal collision in the Wadden Sea in October 2022. Three-month suspended prison sentences were also requested. The Public Prosecution Service alleges that the captain and skipper were speeding and accused both of negligent homicide and causing grievous bodily harm. Kees P. (35) from Harlingen, skipper of the 'Stormloper', cannot remember the collision on the Wadden Sea. He suffers from a form of amnesia, as was revealed during the case hearing. He told the court in Leeuwarden that he only remembers leaving Harlingen and contacting the speedboat via radio near Terschelling. "The next moment I was hanging from the bow of the boat," said the skipper, who was injured in the accident. The 'Tiger' was sailing at a speed of 55 kilometers per hour just before the accident, while the water taxi was sailing at a speed of almost 30 kilometers per hour. In the Schuitengat, the shipping channel near Terschelling where the accident occurred, there is a speed limit of 20 kilometers per hour. "I personally believe there was no speed limit," said Arco Z. (49), the captain of the 'Tiger'. An audio recording of the radio conversation preceding the collision was played in court. The captain of the 'Tiger' warned the oncoming water taxi that it would be better to pass the speedboat on the unusual starboard side. "I picked up the radio to find out what his intentions were. He was already on the red side before me," said Z. During the radio conversation, the men couldn't reach an agreement because the water taxi skipper was unresponsive. According to the Public Prosecution Service, the skipper made an "incomprehensible and unsafe steering movement" at the last moment, leaving the ferry captain no choice but to run over the water taxi. "If both suspects had followed the rules, this accident wouldn't have happened," the prosecutors said, referring to the boating behavior of skipper Kees P. and captain Arco Z., which they called "careless and negligent." "Both could have prevented the collision."