Speedboat crash that killed 15-year-old girl was ‘accident waiting to happen’

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has made a number of recommendations including improving visibility, safety measures and operating rules after its investigation into the crash which killed Emily Lewis. The schoolgirl suffered fatal injuries after the rigid inflatable boat (Rib) she was riding in with her family on a high-speed excursion collided with a 4.5-metre high buoy at 36.6 knots in Southampton Water in August 2020. Earlier this year, 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, after a trial at Winchester Crown Court.

Michael Howley, 52, the owner of the now defunct Seadogz firm, which ran the boat trips, was convicted of not operating the boat safely. They were both sentenced to 18 weeks in custody suspended for two years, ordered to complete 125 hours of community service and to pay GBP1,000 court costs. Chief inspector of marine accidents Andrew Moll said in the report: "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 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 Rib involved in the collision (MAIB/PA Wire)

"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." The MAIB recommended in its report that the Maritime and Coastguard Agency carries out an assessment on the design and operational requirements of high-speed passenger craft and to expedite the introduction of a Sport and Pleasure Vessel Code. It also recommends that an improved field of vision requirement is imposed for the steering position of small craft and the Rib's manufacturer has been recommended to ensure its seats, handholds and restraints meet the latest industry guidance.

The MAIB also makes recommendations to ports and harbour masters to develop guidance and ensure risk assessments are carried out for the use of high-speed craft.