Corporate report

Marine Accident Investigation Branch: current investigations

Updated 6 December 2024

1. Current investigations

Vessel’s name (IMO/PLN) Accident/incident type Date of incident *Status of investigation
HMC Vigilant (9276353) Crew fatality while the vessel was alongside at Cowes, Isle of Wight, England. 23/11/24 Preliminary assessment
Odyssey (FR70) Foundering of the UK registered, 23.1m fishing vessel approximately 130 nautical miles east of Fife Ness, Scotland. The crew were rescued from the vessel’s life raft uninjured. 29/10/24 Under Investigation
Bayesian (9503392) Foundering of the UK registered sailing vessel 0.5 nautical miles south east of the entrance to Porticello harbour on the northern coast of Sicily. Of the 22 persons on board, fifteen were able to escape from the vessel and were recovered to shore. 19/08/24 Under Investigation
Tender to Isabell Princess of the Sea/Vega Collision between the tender to Isabell Princess of the Sea and the RIB Vega in the port of Göcek, Turkey. 27/07/24 Under investigation on behalf of the Government of Gibraltar.
Argos Georgia (9812690) Foundering of the Saint Helena registered vessel Argos Georgia in heavy seas approximately 200nm east of Port Stanley, Falkland Islands. 23/07/24 Under investigation on behalf of the Government of Saint Helena. Note: a safety bulletin has been issued.
Jean Elaine Grounding of the UK registered dive support vessel Jean Elaine in Deer Sound, Orkney. 22/07/24 Under investigation
Laureline (9823352) Fatal injury to a crew member on a Malta registered RoRo cargo vessel while loading freight vehicles in Purfleet, England. 13/07/24 Under investigation
Kingfisher (DH110) Fatal man overboard from a UK registered 18.35m fishing vessel approximately 30nm east north east of Wick, Scotland. 12/07/24 Under investigation. Note: a safety bulletin has been issued.
Weston Bay (GY123) Fatal man overboard from a UK registered 11.16m fishing vessel, approximately 11nm east of Spurn Head, Humber Estuary, England. 22/05/24 Under investigation
Apache (9749489) / Serinah (GH116) Collision between the oil tanker Apache and the fishing vessel Serinah which resulted in the sinking and loss of Serinah approximately 6nm southwest of Ardrossan in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. 25/04/24 Under investigation
Opportune (LK209) Foundering of a UK registered stern trawler in the North Sea, approximately 36 miles east of Lerwick in Shetland. The crew were rescued from the vessel’s liferaft uninjured. 24/03/24 Under investigation
Baton Rouge (1010935) Fatality of the chief engineer on board a Isle of Man registered yacht while alongside at Falmouth Harbour, Antigua. 23/02/24 Under investigation on behalf of the Isle of Man Ship Registry.
Freedom II (CN111) Flooding and sinking of a UK registered fishing vessel while under tow approximately 11.5nm south-west of Oban, Scotland. The crew were rescued with no major injuries. 21/02/24 Under investigation
Vos Voyager (9411276) Serious injury sustained by a crewmember onboard an Emergency Response & Rescue Vessel (ERRV) operating in the North Sea, following a fall in their cabin during heavy weather. 19/01/24 Under investigation
Nista (LK121) Fatal man overboard from a UK registered 8.18m fishing vessel, approximately 1nm west of Luing, Scotland. 13/12/23 Under investigation
Amadeus (TH7) Man overboard, presumed deceased, from a UK registered fishing vessel in the German Bight, approximately 54nm north-west  of  Heligoland. 12/12/23 Under investigation
Sustain (UL45) Grounding and loss of a UK registered fishing vessel at the western entrance of Loch Broom in Ullapool, Scotland. The crew were rescued uninjured. 16/11/23 Under investigation. Note: an interim report (PDF, 312KB) has been issued.
Spirit of Discovery (9802683) Loss of propulsion of a UK registered passenger vessel in the Bay of Biscay, resulting in multiple passenger injuries and one subsequent fatality during heavy weather. 04/11/23 Under investigation. Note: an interim report (PDF, 224KB) has been issued.
Verity (9229178) / Polesie (9488097) Collision between the Isle of Man registered general cargo vessel Verity and the Bahamas registered bulk carrier Polesie in the German Bight traffic separation scheme, resulting in the sinking of Verity with the loss of 1 life. Two of the remaining 6 crew members were recovered from the water and 4 are missing, presumed deceased. 24/10/23 Under investigation on behalf of the Isle of Man Ship Registry as the lead marine safety investigation state, and in agreement with the vessel flag states and the coastal state. Note: an interim report (PDF, 360KB) has been issued.
Honeybourne III (PD905) Failure of fishing gear on board a UK registered fishing vessel approximately 16nm south-west of Beachy Head, East Sussex, England, resulting in 1 fatality. 06/10/23 Under investigation. Note: a safety bulletin and an interim report (PDF, 222KB) have been issued.
Karin A passing dive support vessel struck a recreational diver making an underwater decompression stop in Scapa Flow, the Orkney Islands, Scotland, resulting in 1 fatality. 28/09/23  Under investigation. Note: a safety bulletin and an interim report have been issued.
Lexi Rose (BF370) Capsize of a 7.29m UK registered fishing vessel 2nm east of Macduff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, resulting in 1 fatality. 21/09/23 Under investigation. Note: an interim report has been issued.
Lundy Explorer Sea Safari RIB proceeded at slow speed when the wave action caused passengers to be dislodged from their seats resulting in injuries as they departed Ilfracombe, Devon, England. 07/06/23 Under investigation. Note: interim report (PDF, 251KB) has been issued.
Pentalina (9437969) Machinery failure and subsequent grounding of a UK registered ro-ro passenger ferry at St Margaret’s Hope, South Ronaldsay, Scotland. 29/04/23 Under investigation. Note: interim report (PDF, 320KB) has been issued.
Calypso 2 Grounding of an 11m Anguilla registered commercial day excursion boat on the north-west coast of Anguilla, causing the 2 crew and 4 passengers to be thrown overboard. Several injuries were sustained and 2 lives were lost. 11/03/23 Under investigation on behalf of the Governor of Anguilla. Note: interim report (PDF, 255KB) has been issued.
Stena Europe (7901760) Fire in the engine room and funnel space on board a UK registered ro-ro passenger ferry while approaching Fishguard Port in Pembrokeshire, Wales. 11/02/23 Under investigation. Note: interim report (PDF, 257KB) has been issued.
Finnhawk (9207895) / Humber Saturn Fall from height on boarding the Finland registered ro-ro cargo ship Finnhawk from the UK registered pilot vessel Humber Saturn off the Humber Estuary, England, resulting in one fatality. 08/01/23 Under investigation. Note: interim report (PDF, 257KB) has been issued.
LimbItless Person overboard from a keelboat off Cowes, Isle of Wight, England with loss of 1 life. 01/10/22 Under investigation. Note: interim report (PDF, 314KB) has been issued.
Berge Mawson (9738868) Fatal injuries to 3 stevedores in a cargo hold on board an Isle of Man registered bulk carrier while loading coal at Bunyu anchorage, Indonesia. 27/06/22 Under investigation on behalf of the Isle of Man Ship Registry. Note: interim report (PDF, 305KB) has been issued.
Njord (SH 90) Capsize and foundering of a UK registered stern trawler in the North Sea, approximately 100 miles west of Stavanger in Norway, resulting in the death of 1 crew member. 06/03/22 Under investigation. Note: interim report (PDF, 261KB) has been issued.
Finnmaster (9132014) Auxiliary engine room fire on board a Finland registered ro-ro cargo ship while departing Hull, England. 19/09/21 Under investigation. Note: two safety bulletins covering separate safety issues (1/2023 and 1/2022) and an interim report (PDF, 401KB) have been issued during this investigation.
Cornishman (PZ 512) Fatal accident on board a UK registered fishing vessel, 55nm SSW of the Isles of Scilly. 06/02/21 Under investigation. Note: interim report (PDF, 529KB) has been issued.
Waverley (5386954) Contact by a passenger vessel with the pier on arrival at Brodick, Isle of Arran, Scotland resulting in passenger injuries and damage to the vessel. 03/09/20 Under investigation. Note: interim report (PDF, 351KB) has been issued.

2. *Status of investigation

Preliminary assessment - this means further details are being obtained to establish whether or not further investigation is warranted.

Under investigation - this means an investigation is being carried out, which will lead to a published report.

Consultation stage - when an investigation is largely complete a draft copy of the report is sent to interested parties for comment.

Go to the MAIB finder to search for published reports and bulletins.

3. Investigations led by other countries

Investigations into accidents involving foreign flagged vessels that have occurred in UK waters and that, by agreement, are being led by other administrations.

Vessel’s name (IMO/PLN) Accident/incident type Date of incident Lead State
Viking Mars (9833187) Fall from a gangway on board a Norwegian flagged passenger vessel moored at Saltburn Pier, Invergordon, Scotland, resulting in 1 fatality. 18/08/23 Norway
Isle of Innisfree (8908466) Engine room fire on a Cyprus registered ro-ro passenger ferry while on passage from Dover, England to Calais, France. The ferry lost power and was later towed to Calais where all passengers and crew disembarked with no injuries reported. 03/03/23 France
Geo Searcher (8028498) Grounding, flooding and foundering near Gough Island in the South Atlantic. (Gough Island is part of the Tristan da Cunha archipelago and a British Overseas Territory.) 15/10/20 Belize

Investigations into accidents involving UK registered vessels and/or UK citizens that, by agreement, are being led by other administrations.

Vessel’s name (IMO/PLN) Accident/incident type Date of incident Lead State
Sea Story Capsize of the Egyptian liveaboard dive vessel Sea Story, resulting in the loss of up 18 persons, including 2 UK nationals. The United Kingdom has registered as a substantially interested state to the marine safety investigations authorities in Egypt. 25/11/24 Egypt
Titan submersible Loss of the submersible Titan resulting in five fatalities following its deployment from the Canadian registered support vessel Polar Prince (5329566) in the North Atlantic Ocean close to the Titanic wreck site. The United Kingdom has registered as a substantially interested state to the marine safety investigations being conducted by the authorities in Canada and the United States of America. 18/06/23 Canada, United States of America
Hurricane Fire on an Egyptian liveaboard dive vessel Hurricane, resulting in the death of 3 UK nationals. The United Kingdom has registered as a substantially interested state to the marine safety investigations authorities in Egypt. 11/06/23 Egypt
Valaris 121 (9621481) Missing crew member believed to have fallen overboard from the Liberian registered drill rig jack up vessel approximately 98nm off Aberdeen, Scotland, while under tow. 22/01/23 Liberia. Note: The UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is also conducting an investigation.
Farfalla (9740847) Fatal injury to a crew member on board a Maltese registered yacht off Antigua. 08/03/22 Malta
Zephyr Lumos (9864227) Collision between the UK registered container ship and the Maltese registered bulk carrier, Galapagos, in the Straits of Malacca. 10/07/21 Malaysia