Paddle steamer bosses under fire

The Waverley hit a reef off the island of Sanda in June last year

Marine experts have criticised the owners of the famous Waverley vessel over an ocean-going accident last year.

The Glasgow-based paddle steamer's hull hit a reef near the island of Sanda during an excursion to Mull.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said a lack of planning, equipment and navigational expertise were evident.

No-one was injured but it said it was "extremely fortunate" that none of the 370 people on board were hurt.

The ship was steaming along at 14 knots on its afternoon voyage when its port side touched the rocky bottom of Boiler Reef, off the south-west coast of Sanda, on 20 June.

The boat was eventually escorted back to port at Campbeltown with the help of a lifeboat after the ship's master phoned through the emergency on his mobile phone.

'Hidden dangers'

The MAIB criticised its management, Waverly Excursions Limited (WEL), on a number of levels and made a number of safety recommendations to make sure another accident does not occur.

Its investigators found relevant crew had not adequately planned the vessel's route on the day and had failed to appreciate proximity to "the hidden dangers" involved in the journey.

They criticised the type of navigational equipment used on the ship and said that had the correct equipment been in place then the accident could have been prevented.

Preventative measures have already been put in place to reduce the chances of anything similar in future years Ian McMillan WEL

The expertise of the 25-stong staff on board also came under scrutiny and investigators pointed out that the staff responsible for internal audits of navigational procedure had a distinct lack of deck experience.

They also said the master's decision to contact the coastguard by mobile, rather than by using the radio system - in an attempt to avoid media attention - had been a potentially dangerous move.

Investigators said this had prevented the coastguard from accurately fixing the position of the steamer, or alerting other vessels in the area to its predicament.

The report concluded: "Given the speed of the vessel just prior to the grounding, the rocky nature of the seabed and the limited scope of the hull's watertight sub division, it is extremely fortunate that the consequences of this accident were not far worse, especially when one considers the number of passengers on board the Waverley at the time, and the remote location of Sanda island."

'Preventative measures'

The MAIB recommended WEL make sure all navigational equipment in future is fit for its purpose, that crew have relevant training and experience in navigational procedures and that all voyages are planned and conducted using the proper guidelines.

On the back of the findings, WEL has commissioned an external audit of the navigational procedures it uses and issued a safety memorandum to crew of the need to use appropriate navigational tools on excursions.

WEL chairman Ian McMillan said: "We welcome the report, the findings of which we have been aware of for some time.

"The scale of repairs required to the Waverley were minor but nevertheless due consideration had been given to the circumstances of the incident which occurred last year.

"Preventative measures have already been put in place to reduce the chances of anything similar in future years."

The paddle steamer is due to start its operating season on the River Clyde from May.