A RETIRED sea captain is set to publicly accuse ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne of sailing ferries without suitable lifeboats or equipment on board to rescue passengers in the event of a serious incident.
MV Hebrides – carries no rigid lifeboats
Captain Morris Macleod recently discovered there are no rigid lifeboats on the ferry MV Hebrides but it still sailed from Ullapool with a storm force 11 gale forecast and was forced to turn back when the violent storm closed the ferry berth at Stornoway as passengers prayed for their lives.
The outspoken master mariner, from Newmarket near Stornoway, now wants CalMac bosses to explain to a public meeting in Stornoway tomorrow (TUES) why there will also be no rigid lifeboats on the new £42 million ferry currently being built for the route but an inflatable escape system which is not designed for use in winds of more than Force 6.
In a development last week which has silenced many of Capt Macleod’s critics, he claims to have learned from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency that the alternative Marine Evacuation System – essentially an inflatable escape chute into inflatable liferafts – in use on the MV Hebrides and which will be on the new ferry, is not designed for use in windspeeds above Force 6.
On January 29 public transport in the Western Isles was suspended following a severe weather warning being issued to the various public services. It warned of the approaching storm and of hurricane force winds throughout the islands. That was in addition to the Met Office shipping forecasts which gave violent storm 11 conditions in the Minch for that evening.
However, the ferry Hebrides left Ullapool for Stornoway but about 90 minutes later was forced to turn back. The weather in Stornoway had deteriorated and the harbour master had closed the ferry berth as required by port safety regulations.
In a complaint to Scottish transport minister Keith Brown, Capt Macleod, 66, said: “As a former shipmaster I was shocked at the decision of the Master to sail from Ullapool given the violence of the forecast, the worst storm to hit these islands in five years.
“It was reported in the press on Thursday that some of the passengers were so frightened that they were offering up prayers for their deliverance back to the safety of Ullapool.”
At the time, CalMac responded saying they had confidence that the unnamed Master of the ferry was capable of making the right decisions and had done nothing unsafe.
Appalled that they had dismissed his complaint, Capt Macleod then discovered the MV Hebrides has no rigid lifeboats fitted but a Marine Evacuation System which comprises a chute to lower run down passengers down to inflatable liferafts.
He said: “First of all, a chute is not suitable for disabled people, pregnant women, obese people or patients going to or from hospital for surgical procedures, all of whom travel regularly on that route. It must also never be used by children under five.
“Secondly, these systems cannot be used in the most severe conditions that occur in the Minch. The inflatable chute would just flap about and risk serious injury. That could mean, in the the event of an emergency, the passengers may not be able to get off a sinking ferry.”
He asked the MCA about the International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) Code and what weather conditions it lays down for using the inflatable Marine Evaculation System as he had discovered material which suggested the upper limit was just Force 6.
Captain Parsad Panicker responded: “Your understanding of the performance requirements of MES is correct. Our Regulations are as per the requirements of the LSA Code which requires the “system to provide a satisfactory means of evacuation in a sea state associated with a wind of force 6 on the Beaufort scale, and in association with a significant wave height of at least 3m”.
Capt Macleod is now demanding to know why some vessels in CalMac’s fleet are sailing in conditions with no rigid lifeboats and in weather conditions beyond that which the inflatable MES is designed for. He has vowed to publicly demand answers at the public meeting tomorrow.
The outspoken seafarer had divided opinion with his initial criticism of CalMac. Yesterday, one North Sea seafarer, who asked not to be named, said: “I was angry at Morris’s criticism of CalMac a few weeks ago. However, I was wrong and I now see that there are serious issues to be publicly addressed by that company.
“They must explain to everyone here how they can rescue people in an emergency from any ferry in the conditions they sail in with no rigid lifeboats on board. I am now angry that we were never told about this before.”
After the ferry company was told of the apparent confirmation of Capt Macleod’s views by the MCA, CalMac responded saying their position remained that they totally reject the claims and can assure all their customers that safety is their number one priority.
Its spokesman added: “All vessels, including the MV Hebrides, meet every one of the statutory safety requirements to sail in the conditions we face up and down the west coast of Scotland. We also have our own tried and tested safety management systems. All of the above are regularly and routinely monitored by the MCA. The simple truth is that we would not be permitted to operate were that not the case. It should also go without saying that all new vessels will meet all necessary statutory safety requirements too.
“Ultimately responsibility for vessel, passengers and crew rests with the Masters, all of whom are highly qualified and highly experienced, both in terms of the ships they sail and the routes they serve. The decision taken by the master on January 29 to sail to Stornoway was based on an analysis of a variety of factors, all of which indicated it would be safe to do so, but when advised that Stornoway Harbour had closed the Master rightly opted to return to Ullapool.
“In our opinion this was an excellent example of a Master exercising his professional judgement wisely and with sole regard for safety, not the reverse.”
The public meeting to discuss the new ferry will be at Stornoway Town Hall at 7pm on Tuesday and has been organised by the CalMac sister company Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd, which actually owns the vessels.
It’s correct to raise concerns like these so that they can be properly investigated. If the regulations are being adhered to, then no harm has been done in keeping people responsible for these issues on their toes.
If they aren’t being adhered to, then corrections can be made before actual injuries or deaths result from the use of inadequate safety equipment.
This would also save us from hearing yet another damage limitation exercise in the form of some spokesman/politician stating blandly something in the manner of “…we must ensure that this can never happen again”, which we so often hear in the media. A lot of tragedies/disasters are as much down to human error as forces of nature.
calMac knows they have messed up . they are no longer furiously denying it but trying to find words their own inaction . why have the people who attacked morris a few weeks ago gone so quiet ???
What about the MCA . they have questions to answer for not making calmac follow the rules .
Mr Macleod has obviously taken a great deal of time and effort to read the LSA code, unfortunatley he missed out the bit on MES where it states that it has to be safe for anyone of any size and shape to use and therefore is appropriate for pregnant ladies, children and the infirm.
“6.2 Marine evacuation systems
6.2.1 Construction of the marine evacuation systems
6.2.1.1 The passage of the marine evacuation system shall provide for safe descent of persons of various ages, sizes and physical capabilities wearing approved lifejackets from the embarkation station to the floating platform or survival craft.”
The MCA’s own regulations go so far as to recommend additional training in order to help the slightly more incapable passengers in MGN273.
Going back to the LSA code, it’s recommendations for the stability of lifeboats are such that they only have to be upright in calm seas, no mention at all is made of heavy weather. In fact if the LSA code is read thoroughly, all the recommendations and tests for almost every type of lifesaving appliance asks for calm seas, only the MES has to capable of operation in a force 6. Mr Macleod has just picked out the parts of the code that support his own flawed arguement and has ignored the rest.
It should also be remembered that the LSA code is the minimum requirement and most life saving appliances go well above and beyond these requirements.
OH Please not this again * Sigh* … the Ferry has a certificate that says it meets the standards required as a Passenger Ferry and reviewed frequently … Cal Mac Captains would not put our lives at risk – end off
This retired skipper knows fine well that he is not attacking Calmac but the skipper that sailed that night, I have all faith in the skippers on the Calmac boats, any qualified skipper knows that when they sail a passenger vessel ultimately they are responsible for every life on board, they don’t make decisions lightly and as everyone knows they are not likely to bow to public pressure (which as an ex Calmac shore staff employee I promise you there is plenty of).
I don’t know which skipper was on the day in question but I would have happily been on the boat, as I have done in bad weather many times before!! I don’t have the skipper that sailed that days experience, training or knowledge of the Minch and the MV Hebrides’ capabilities but I trust them, because you don’t get a skippers ticket for nothing, unlike a driving licence!
The travelling public is never happy, they moan if it sails in bad weather, then they moan even louder if it doesn’t – just like ‘Jubilee2′ *sigh*
If a skipper was putting passengers in danger, he’d be putting himself in danger – I’m thinking CalMac doesn’t have a fleet of suicidal masters…..
Well that was an interesting meeting. As anticipated concerns were indeed raised about the MES systems onboard Calmac ships. I must say that I felt the questions raised by this ‘retired mariner master’ were answered very well and he was correctly put in his place. As somebody who has been down an MES chute many times I will be the first to admit it is not a pleasant experience and could even be frightening for old and young alike. But in an emergency situation I know that I would much rather be off a sinking ship and into a liferaft in minutes rather than wait for the launching of lifeboats. There was indeed a tragic fatality during a MES drill but 5 people lost there lives weeks ago during a lifeboat drill. Its all about getting a large number of people to a safe place in the quickest time possible. I was surprised the fact rescue craft wasn’t mentioned as I believe that could be used for people with extreme difficulty in getting down the chute.
MES systems, as stated earlier, are designed for use by anyone that is able to use the vessel. I myself have used them many times (not in a real emergency I may add.) Whilst they would not be pleasant in bad weather, In many situations (not all of course) they are far favorable to the ‘rigid lifeboats’ being referred to here, assuming they are launched correctly and the correct actions are taken once everyone is in the raft. Deck Officers are well versed in their use of these. When I worked on passenger ships, we regularly carried out training in their use.
TEMPSC (the modern day ‘rigid’ lifeboats that keep being refered to in this article – or even their partially enclosed counter parts) are inherently dangerous, and whilst they do provide good shelter in bad weather, until the Costa Concordia incident last year, they had actually injured and killed more people than they had ever saved since their mandatory introduction to newly built vessels in 1986.
Maritime safety is an area that is far behind Aeronautical and other areas. Whilst the SOLAS convention and the LSA code are steps in the right direction, they are still far behind what they should be.
I am not saying that CalMac are right by not having their new ships fitted with lifeboats, I personally prefered the arrangement I had on a previous vessel where we had both MES and lifeboats. However it is Legal and they are Class approved. Granted it would be Favorable to have them, but ask yourself this as an aside. You don’t have to have reflective prismatic triangles/cones, a high visibility vest , a first aid kit and a portable fire extinguisher in your car, so how many of you spend your money and follow the recommendation to have them?
The simple fact is, shipping is a business, many centuries old. It has, and for the foreseeable future at least will, be a reactive rather than proactive safety orientated industry. Companies can claim to do all they want with their International Safety Management compliance, however, they are, at the end of the day, a business. They have to draw the line somewhere. That line, in the shipping industry, is legislation.
If you cannot accept this and refuse to believe this to be the case, it is simple. Stop using the ferry and fly.
If you are looking for scape goats in this argument, regardless of your views and which side you have took, it is not the fault of the Captain of the Hebrides, it is not the fault of the retired captain who raised this issue, it is not the fault of Caledonian Macbrayne, and it is not even the fault of the MCA. It is the fault of the entire international shipping industry. Until they change the Legislation at an international level (which will take many, many years) nothing will change on a national level.
You can now argue all you like about how ‘Calmac should care more for their customers’, and I agree they owe you a duty of care. Their duty of care however, is to comply with current legislation. Outside of that it is them going above and beyond. And now your going to say ‘well they should its peoples safety’ which is fine and a valid argument. In which case you wont complain when they increase the cost of fares to cover this new expenditure…
There are more accidents launching rigid lifeboats than ever encountered with MES systems, like many retired ships masters Capt, McLeod believes he knows best, after 40 years at sea albeit as a mere deck rating I know what I would prefer to use and a big heavy rigid boat slamming about in a thirty foot swell would not be my choice
.
why did he wait until he retired to say this….boredome?
I’ve got to say, i worked on the M.V Isle of Lewis for nearly 10 years, and having sailed countless times in horrendous weather, never having felt my life was at risk. not once did i, Quote from above, ever see anyone offering up prayers for there deliverance back to the safety of Ullapool or Stornoway.
i really feel in this economic climate, we should be protecting calmac from the threat of privatization rather than arguing about mes systems. I am an islander working for calmac and have seen its effects on the islands, especially the small islands where they are the major employer. Calmac are one of the only companies offering a real career to the islands, especially the young people.If a private company took over there is no way we would get the level of service or the jobs we enjoy right now…….and mes systems would be the last thing on our minds.
the gentleman above (seafarer) made complete sense, so i don’t really have much more to add.The safety of calmac ships is a non-issue, i just wish people would sit back and look at the bigger picture sometimes.
I would love to see Captain Macleod attempt to launch two rigid lifeboats full of passengers in 60Kt winds. Lifeboats are not the be all and end all of surviving at sea, what use are lifeboats if they cannot be launched?. We are all in for a massive shock if abandoning ship becomes a viable option on any ferry in a force 11 gael in terms of survival craft/evacuation systems being able to launch properly. Yet all these vesels are fully certified by the MCA or appropriate flag state for carrying hundreds and even up to thousands of passengers. #TravelByPlaneInstead
Totally agree with Islanderatsea – when/if service goes out to tender we are open to all sorts of bidders …
And so what happened ? all has gone quiet I wonder why HaHa – wonder what a bored mariner will find to garble about next … watching this space