Commission of inquiry into disaster that left 39 dead is told ferry Sea Smooth and Lamma IV should have been clearly visible to each other

The captains of the two vessels that collided off Lamma Island killing 39 people should have been able to see each other’s ships three minutes before they crashed, the commission of inquiry into the tragedy was told yesterday.

Counsel for the commission Paul Shieh Wing-tai SC said that according to the Observatory, visibility was clear and the wind was light at the time of the crash – 8.20pm on October 1 – and the weather and tide were not affecting navigation.

Shieh was making his opening remarks at the start of the main hearing by the commission. A preliminary hearing was held last week.

By the time the Hongkong Electric boat Lamma IV had cleared its berth and was under way, it was within two nautical miles of the ferry Sea Smooth.

“By 8.17pm, they should have been within sight of one another by radar and visually,” he said.

An animation from radar data, played at the hearing, showed that Sea Smooth – with four crew and at least 62 passengers – was travelling at 24 nautical miles an hour about 20 seconds before the collision.

Lamma IV, with three crew and 124 passengers, was travelling at 11.5 nautical miles an hour.

Radar diagrams presented to the commission showed that the routes taken by the two vessels during the period of the crash overlapped three times.

Further analysis of the radar data is expected by other witnesses, including a British expert.

But the accuracy of the data was questioned by James McGowan SC, representing the owner and crew of Lamma IV.

The commission heard that the Sea Smooth disengaged from the Lamma IV after the crash, leaving part of its hull inside the stricken vessel, which sank in less than five minutes.

The first emergency call was made by a passenger on Lamma IV one minute after the crash.

Two minutes later, the captain of Sea Smooth informed the Marine Department’s Vessel Traffic Centre in Sheung Wan by radio.

“My [vessel] collided with a Hongkong Electric vessel [near] the Lamma Patch,” Captain Lai Sai-ming said in an audio clip played yesterday.

The centre’s log book, presented at the hearing, showed the crash was noted at 8.25pm and that a rescue was under way.

The department’s assistant director in port control, marine police and the fire services had been informed.

Six minutes after the crash, at 8.26pm, the Sea Smooth captain reconnected with the control centre. He said: “Water is flooding into the vessel’s port, its starboard side.

“Water is flooding into the vessel. I am now taking passengers to [Yung Shue Wan pier]”.

The hearing continues today.

Reproduced from South China Morning Post. Original here