Ferry officer is cleared over the deaths of three friends in the English Channel

A seaman accused of killing three amateur sailors when a car ferry allegedly hit their yacht was cleared of manslaughter today.

Michael Hubble, 62, was watch officer on board the 37,500-ton Pride of Bilbao when the ship crossed paths with the 25ft-long Ouzo in the English Channel.

But rather than alert the coastguard or tell his own captain, the P&O seaman was accused of "turning a blind eye" and effectively leaving the three friends to die.

Experienced sailors James Meaby, 36, Jason Downer, 35, and Rupert Saunders, 36, spent hours in inflatable vests in the icy sea off the Isle of Wight before their deaths.

Hubble admitted passing a yacht at 1.07am on August 21 last year, but said the boat was well within his ship's "comfort zone".

He was taped by the ferry's black box recorder exclaiming: "Can't believe it came up that quick, f*** all on the radar", but maintained he safely passed the yacht because he had seen a light from it as he passed it in the night.

A jury at Winchester Crown Court has cleared Hubble of manslaughter through gross negligence.

But he still faces charges under the Merchant Shipping Act of endangering the three men's lives.

Mr Downer and Mr Saunders, who were both bankers in the City, could have been in the water for three hours before they died, according to experts.

Mr Meaby, a sales manager, may have survived for 12 hours before succumbing to hypothermia.

The body of Mr Meaby, from Tooting, South London, was not found until 34 hours after the alleged collision, while the bodies of Mr Saunders, also from Tooting, and Mr Downer, from Broadstairs, Kent, were not recovered for two days.

Mr Saunders was the owner and skipper of the Ouzo, which was 24 years old but wellmaintained and equipped.

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During the six-week trial, the jury heard that the three men, who were school and university friends, were sailing from the Isle of Wight to a royal regatta in Dartmouth, while the 581ft Pride of Bilbao was sailing from Portsmouth to northern Spain.

Christopher Parker, QC, prosecuting, said: "We say he (Hubble) took no action to ascertain the crew of the yacht was safe as a result of that collision or very near miss.

"They were left swimming in the sea in the wake of the ferry as it sailed on.

"If Michael Hubble had done what we say he should have done, there would have been a rescue operation and these three men would have survived."

Hubble, of Folkestone, Kent, told the court he was "perfectly happy" that the ferry had missed a yacht and "had no doubt to the safety of that vessel". He described the moment that he came close to a yacht, which he thought he passed safely.

He said he heard lookout Dave Smith say that he saw lights off the starboard bow at 1.07am as the ferry steamed at 21 knots.

Hubble told the jury that he felt the lookout's voice was not urgent and he came out of the map room to take a look.

He then steered the ferry to port.

"The reason I did that was I wanted to give this chap a bit more room," he added.

Hubble said he then put the ferry back to starboard because he was worried he might hit the yacht with the stern of the ship.

"I watched the target, which started to pass down the starboard side," he added.

He then lost sight of it because of light pollution from the ship and from changing course.

Then he said he saw a single red port light to the stern.

Richard Barraclough QC, defending, asked: "What did you take that light to be?"

Hubble replied: "I thought it was the yacht I had just seen."

He said he then walked across to the port side of the bridge and saw the stern light of the yacht.

Mr Barraclough: "In your judgment, was the yacht safe?"

Hubble replied he had no doubt that it was safe.

Mr Barraclough: "You did not get the captain. Why?"

Hubble: "I felt no reason to. I was perfectly happy that that vessel was absolutely safe.

"I had no doubt to the safety of that vessel."

The jury also heard that there had been a supertanker in the area at 1.40am that may have hit the yacht.

Experts from South Tyneside College calculated that the Ouzo was close to a 3,000-ton coastal tanker called Crescent Beaune and not the Pride of Bilbao at 1.40am on August 21.

The captain of the tanker, Alaistair Crichton, told the jury he had broken the law when he had only a second officer and not another lookout on his bridge that evening.

The trial continues.