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The skipper of a Thames passenger boat is to be quizzed by accident investigators after his 124ft catamaran sliced a rowing skiff in half, leaving seven rowers swimming for their lives.
Police said today that it was extraordinary none of the crew of the smaller boat had been killed in the collision or drowned after the accident near the London Eye.
The rowers had just passed the Eye when their traditional 26 ft waterman's skiff was struck by a 220-seat Hurricane Clipper ferry.
The crew of a passing Met police launch witnessed the accident and were on the scene in seconds to pluck the rowers to safety. An RNLI lifeboat was also launched and reached the scene in minutes.
The rowers were training for the London to Paris Challenge race next May when they were struck on Sunday. Scotland Yard said today both the Marine Accident Investigation Branch and the Port of London Authority had launched investigations.
The MAIB inquiry is expected to focus on the actions of the skipper and the lookouts on the ferry. Investigators are also expected to question the rowers.
One of them, John Anthony, 42, a tree-house builder from Hampshire, said the crew were on a 38-mile training run from Richmond to Tower Bridge. He said: “We were going downstream past the London Eye and we were 10 to 15 metres past this vessel when it suddenly pulled out across us, powered up and split our boat in two.
“The tide was racing in and if they hadn't been there some of us, including me, wouldn't have been here today. They were fantastic. I don't know why the skipper pulled across us because his lookouts were shouting and waving stop, stop, no, no'.
“We'd just taken delivery of the boat that morning. It was the one we were going to use to cross the Channel.”
Ralph de Jong-Mellon, 50, a jazz pianist and the skipper of the rowing boat, said he could not comment in detail because of the investigation: “It was very traumatic for all seven of us. One of us was caught between the two hulls of the ferry.”
Police today praised Pc Analeigh Hipkin, the skipper of the police launch, for her skill in picking up the rowers who were clinging to debris in a fast moving tide.
Inspector Chris Connolly of the Marine Police said: “It was very fortunate that no one was killed. The swift response of the police launch may very well have saved the lives of some of the rowers. All in all they had a very lucky escape.”
Jock Wishart, the organiser of the London to Paris Challenge, said: “This was an accident waiting to happen. The Clippers tend to think a bit that they have the river to themselves.”
A spokeswoman for Thames Clippers said: “The Hurricane Clipper made contact with a small vessel. The captain of the boat gave a full report.”
Reader views (2)
Very traumatic but John Anthony says "“I dived down to miss its propellers" I thought that one of the safety features of the clippers were that they have NO propellers - perhaps I am wrong.
- Green Squirrel, London, 05/11/2009 09:58
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I agree wholeheartedly with Jock Wisharts comments regarding the Clippers who think they have the river to themselves. Our rowing club based on the tideway at Greenwich just below the old Royal Naval College frquently have boats damaged by the wash set up by the Clippers.We always advise London VTS(the navigation control centre) that we are on the shoreline, London VTS issue a warning in their broadcasts to vessels but this is usually ignored by the Clippers.Recently our safety launch needed to flag down an inbound Clipper to Greenwich pier as a race consisting of 4 crews of school children were likely to be swamped,fortunately this was averted as the vessel slowed at the last minute.Our club had three safety launches in attendance for safety reasons but a little consideration for other river users from the Clipper crews would be appreciated. I personaly started coxing in the 50's when the river was far busier than today and much more respect was given to recreational river users by the professionals.This needs action from the PLA before a far more serious accident occurs.
- Alan Wylie, Bromley Kent, 01/10/2009 08:58
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