Another Yacht/Ship collision in UK Waters

by Sail-World Cruising on 18 Apr 2007 Following closely on the publication of the report on the fatal Ouzo incident where the yacht Ouzo collided with or closely passed the ferry The Pride of Bilbao, yet another yacht has collided with a ship in UK waters. The Norfolk Eastern Daily Press reports that the yacht Whispa collided with a 4,000 tonne cargo ship in fog last night.

According to the Press report, the 45 foot boat, much larger than Ouzo, called Yarmouth coastguard just before 10.00pm, to report the incident seven miles south east of Lowestoft.

Neither of the crew was hurt in the collision with the ship, the Gas Monarch, which was carrying 2500 tonnes of propane gas. However, the yacht's rudder was bent sideways and it began to take on water through a large hole.

Unlike the Pride of Bilbao, which was unaware of the plight of Ouzo, the Gas Monarch stayed alongside the yacht until the Lowestoft lifeboat arrived. It was then able to continue its journey to Portugal

Lowestoft RNLI(Royal National Lifeboat Institution) coxswain mechanic John Fox said: 'It was extremely lucky that nobody lost their lives. As it was, the yacht almost sank because of the severe damage to it. We ended up putting two crew members on board to pump out the water and then towed it back to Lowestoft.'