Channel ferry grounded on wreck

The bridge team management was "ineffective", the report said

A Channel ferry with nearly 400 people aboard was grounded in bad weather when the crew failed to detect a charted wreck, an accident report has said.

A paper chart indicating the wreck off Deal in Kent was available on the P&O Ferries vessel Pride of Canterbury.

But the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said the chart was not referred to "at the crucial time".

The ferry suffered severe damage to its port propeller but was able to sail unaided to Dover on 31 January 2008.

No-one was hurt and the ship berthed with the help of two tugs.

The report said that as the bad weather had temporarily closed the port of Dover, the ferry had sheltered in an area off Deal known as "The Downs" before she ran aground.

The wreck would not have been displayed on the ferry's electronic chart because of the settings in use at the time of the incident.

Verbal instructions

The officer of the watch was navigating by eye and with reference to the electronic chart but he was "untrained in the use and limitations of the system".

The ferry's master had given verbal instructions on the geographic limits of the area in which the vessel was to wait.

The report said that as the vessel was approaching a turn, the bridge team became distracted by a fire alarm and a number of telephone calls.

The ferry then overshot the northern limit of the safe area before the turn was started.

The MAIB said the bridge team management was "ineffective" and there was no formal passage planning for the navigation of the vessel while waiting in The Downs.

The information exchange at watch handovers was not performed in a systematic way and the vessel's position was not systematically plotted on the paper chart.

The MAIB said that it had issued safety notices to ferry and other ship operators which detailed lessons learned from the accident.