Owner Fined for 'Dangerously Unsafe' Vessel
The owner of a harbor tanker has been fined £3,000 with more than £7,000 costs after pleading guilty to a charge of operating a vessel for being dangerously unsafe. Joseph O’Connor was fined at the hearing in Southampton Magistrates Court February 12 following his guilty plea to the charge which was brought until the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. In March 2009 the Wadestone, then known as the Humber Star, sank at its berth on Weston Wharf in the River Solent. As a result, the vessel was detained by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) as being dangerously unsafe on March 26, 2009. At the time it was detained it was noted that Wadestone (Humber Star) had been poorly maintained and repaired and was not fit to go to sea.
UK Cross-Harbor Ferryboat Operators Fined
Carrying numbers of passengers, including schoolchildren, far in excess of its license, has cost a Hampshire ferry company £12,340, informs the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). At Portsmouth Magistrates Court the master, operator and owner of the ferry, Tina Maria, were each charged with four counts of sailing without a valid passenger certificate, and two charges of sailing with insufficient liferafts onboard. All three pleaded guilty to all charges, which were brought by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). Tina Maria is an 11-metre long, single-engined boat used as a ferry between Hayling Island and Eastney, across the entrance to Langstone Harbour. The vessel is certified to carry 12 passengers and two crew.
Too Many Passengers Lands Ferry Company in Court
Carrying numbers of passengers, including schoolchildren, far in excess of its license, has cost representatives of a Hampshire ferry company fines and costs totaling £12,340. At Portsmouth Magistrates Court today, the master, operator and owner of the ferry Tina Maria were each charged with four counts of sailing without a valid passenger certificate and two charges of sailing with insufficient liferafts onboard. All three pleaded guilty to all charges, which were brought by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). Tina Maria is an 11-meter long, single-engined boat used as a ferry between Hayling Island and Eastney, across the entrance to Langstone Harbor. The vessel is certified to carry 12 passengers and two crew.
Queen Elizabeth 2 Grouding
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) surveyors from the Southampton Marine Office have completed a full inspection of the Queen Elizabeth 2 liner after its Nov. 11 grounding near the Brambles sand bank in the Solent, and they have given the all clear for the ship to continue on its final journey. At 05.30 on Nov. 11 the crew of the 70,000 gross tons ship reported to Solent Coastguard that they feared she may have run aground two nautical miles north west of Cowes whilst en route into Southampton.
