Isle of Wight ferry captain acquitted over collision with yacht

A judge has ruled that Capt Ian Drummond kept proper lookout and was not to blame for September 2018 incident, according to The Guardian.

Ian Drummond was in charge of the 305ft Red Funnel vessel’s crossing of the Solent, carrying 202 people, when it collided with the 32ft motor cruiser in September 2018. Nobody was hurt in the crash.

The motor cruiser was being sailed by its owner, Peter Jackson, 57, and his wife, Julie, with two others onboard, but there were no injuries.

Drummond, 63, was sitting in the ‘lookout’s chair’ at the time of the collision and the expert witness Captain John Simpson, a master mariner, told the trial that standing up would have helped eliminate the ferry’s blindspot.

But at Southampton magistrates court, the district judge Anthony Callaway ruled that Drummond had used his experience to remain seated to maintain an overall best view around his ship including the use of CCTV monitors.

“Not everything can be seen at all times, that is an impossible task. He remained in the seat because he perceived it gave him the best view available. In my judgment, to move is likely to have hampered certain aspects of the lookout,” says Callaway. “I am satisfied the defendant did keep a proper lookout and was not to blame for the collision.”

Callaway noted Drummond was considered by his employer to be an “experienced and safety-conscious” captain who had made 6,000 crossings to the Isle of Wight without incident.

The skipper of the Phoenix, Jackson, has accepted a caution for his part in the incident after seemingly having “almost no knowledge” of Colregs (International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea). “No proper lookout was in evidence and which endangered himself, his crew and the Phoenix, and to a lesser extent, the ferry,” says Callaway.

“It’s likely that Mr Jackson simply did not see the oncoming ferry, irrespective of the Colregs. As a matter of common sense, this was another huge failing on the part of this skipper.”

Drummond, of Southampton, was acquitted of failing to keep a lookout and misconduct of master likely to endanger ships, structures or individuals under the Merchant Shipping Act.

Speaking after the hearing, Drummond says he was dismissed from his job following the incident in September last year but is seeking for this to be reversed at an employment tribunal to be held next year.

“I feel very relieved, as a Christmas present I couldn’t have asked for anything nicer,” Drummond says.

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