Contact made by ro-ro passenger ferry Pride of Provence with harbour breakwater resulting in 30 people injured
Location: Southern breakwater of Dover Harbour, England.
Accident Investigation Report 26/2003
Read our marine accident investigation report, which includes what happened, actions taken and subsequent recommendations:
(881.40 kb)
Summary
Pride of Provence, a ro-ro passenger ferry with 641 persons on board, made heavy contact with the end of the southern breakwater at the eastern entrance to Dover Harbour on 18 April 2003 at 1724. It was daylight, the weather was good and the visibility clear. There was a strong north-easterly wind and a southerly flowing tidal stream across the entrance. Twenty-eight passengers and crew suffered minor injuries, and two suffered major injuries in the accident, and the vessel was extensively damaged above the waterline.
Safety Issues
- although the master briefed his bridge team on his intended approach and pre-berthing manoeuvre, the briefing was rudimentary and did not give key team members the information they needed to monitor the approach
- the master’s approach was not planned in detail and was flawed: he did not show positive control of the navigation, and did not allow sufficiently for the effects of the tidal stream and wind
Recommendations
Recommendations arising from the MAIB investigation are aimed at improving the passage planning and communication on board P&O Ferries, and at improving port control procedures and infrastructure available to assist masters during the approach to the Port of Dover.
This report was published in November 2003.