TIGER

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

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."

Case against skippers due to start after fatal collision in 2022

The case against the two skippers of the 'Tiger' and the water taxi 'Stormlooper' will start on July 8, 2025, in the court in Leeuwarden. The Public Prosecution Service states that both skippers, a 35-year-old man from Harlingen and a 49-year-old resident of Terschelling, were sailing too fast when the ships were in collision on the early morning of Oct 21, 2022, in the Schuitengat near Terschelling. The water taxi with seven people on board sank. A 46-year-old man from Sexbierum, a 57-year-old man from Leeuwarden and a 49-year-old man from Tjalleberd in the municipality of Heerenveen died. A fourth passenger, a 12-year-old boy, is still missing. Four others were injured. The 'Tiger', with 21 passengers and six crew members on board, took on water, but was able to reach Harlingen safely.The Public Prosecution Service accused both of manslaughter and causing serious bodily harm. The wives of the men from Tjalleberd and Sexbierum – one of them is also the mother of the missing boy – will exercise their right to speak during the criminal case. The son of the man from Tjalleberd will also read a victim statement. The family of the victim from Leeuwarden is not present at the court. Reports with photos and video: https://lc.nl/friesland/terschelling/Een-vreselijke-dag-44161559.html https://www.omropfryslan.nl/nl/nieuws/1173672/contact-tussen-tiger-en-stormloper-voor-aanvaring-geeft-geen-antwoord-op-vraag-over-toedracht https://nos.nl/artikel/2449249-brandaris-hier-tiger-fatale-aanvaring-bij-terschelling-was-enorme-klap