Boat crash that killed Emily Lewis was an 'accident waiting to happen', report finds
Andrew Moll, Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents
A report into a pleasure boat crash that killed a teenage girl says it was an "accident waiting to happen".
Emily Lewis, 15, died and others were badly injured when the RIB, travelling at high speed, hit a metal bouy in Southampton Water three years ago.
Earlier this year, captain Michael Lawrence was cleared of manslaughter but convicted of failing to maintain a proper lookout and a safe speed in the moments before the collision.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch found that Mr Lawrence failed to notice the buoy in time. They also discovered the boat did not have sufficient seating or handholds.
The branch says it was an avoidable accident and instructed the industry to learn from the tragedy.
This video captures the moment the RIB drove straight towards the buoy for at least 10 seconds without changing course
Emily Lewis suffered fatal injuries when the rigid inflatable boat (RIB) collided with the 4.5m-high buoy at 36.8 knots in Southampton Water.
A number of other passengers were seriously injured.
The recommendations are aimed at authorities, operators and manufacturers and include improvements in the areas of:
Seat design
Crash protection
Safety management
Risk assessments
Captain Andrew Moll OBE, Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents said: "The tragic events that took place in Southampton Water on the morning of 22 August 2020 have had an unimaginable impact on all of those affected by the accident. The fact that a passenger excursion on a modern rigid inflatable boat (RIB) being operated in favourable conditions by an appropriately qualified and highly experienced skipper could result in such terrible consequences is difficult to comprehend.
"Two things are especially significant about this tragic accident in which 15-year-old Emily Lewis sadly died and the other passengers all sustained injuries, many of which were serious:
"The first is that the accident would likely not have happened had the trip been conducted in line with industry good practice. All skippers of commercial high-speed craft are taught safe boat handling while gaining their qualifications, and there is no excuse for abandoning professional standards when undertaking a high-speed trip or experience ride.
"The second is that passengers in small high-speed craft are very vulnerable to impact and vibration injuries. In the last 15 years, the MAIB has investigated numerous accidents involving high-speed passenger craft and made various recommendations to improve the safety of this sector. However, as yet, little has been done to provide proper protection to passengers and crew from these hazards that routinely result in life-changing injury and, occasionally, death.
"I am therefore hoping that the maritime regulator, manufacturers and operators of small high-speed passenger craft will take the lessons from this report as a stimulus to action. As the report says, this was an accident waiting to happen. Let it be the last."
Michael Lawrence, 55, who was driving the boat, was found not guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence, but guilty of failing to maintain a proper lookout and failing to proceed at a safe speed.
As well as an 18 week jail sentence, suspended for two years, Lawrence was told to do 125 hours of unpaid work.
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