A UK court has fined a ship’s captain £6,384 ($8,794) after his vessel was in a near collision with a ferry in Northern Ireland.
Kolapi Utime, 64, pleaded guilty to causing the incident in a prosecution brought by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)’s regulatory compliance investigations team.
On 19 March, Utime was master of the 4,500-dwt Scot Leader (built 2007) that had departed Belfast Port bound for Belfast Lough, which links the city to the Irish Sea.
On approach into the lough, Utime had been made aware of two fast-approaching ferries — the 30,285-gt Stena Superfast VIII (built 2001) and 41,671-gt Stena Edda (built 2020).
“When approaching the Stena Edda, Captain Utime was found to have increased the speed of his own vessel — turning across the front of the Stena Edda, in what was contrary to the rules for preventing collisions, creating a close quarter situation and risk of collision,” the MCA said in a statement.
“Captain Utime continued with his turn and within minutes — before a potential impact — communicated with the Stena Edda, requesting that the vessel alter its course to port and pass behind his vessel, again contrary to good seamanship and collision avoidance. However, at that time, the Stena Edda had already begun to turn to starboard to avoid the collision.”
At a subsequent interview with MCA officials on 11 May, Captain Utime admitted to being responsible for the near collision, adding that his “attention had been on the approaching Stena Superfast VIII ferry and that he had not properly assessed the speed of the Stena Edda and how close it was”.
Mark Flavell, lead investigator with the MCA’s regulatory compliance investigations team, said: “This was a dangerous situation caused by the master of the vessel failing to adhere to the collision avoidance rules, which could have had disastrous consequences if a collision had occurred with the large passenger ferry.
“The MCA will always look to take appropriate and necessary action, prosecuting those seafarers who jeopardise others by showing a complete disregard for the laws of the sea.
“We want to send a clear message such offences are not acceptable and those unwilling to follow rules and regulation and improve standards of safety will face the full weight of the law.”
