Lack of skills, bad decision-making, technical failures, bad weather sank the Miroshga
According to Independent Online, a preliminary report on the incident this month near Hout Bay in which two passengers on sightseeing boat Miroshga drowned, says that the skipper of the capsized boat was not qualified to command a small passenger vessel.
This, the reports says, coupled with an under-qualified crew, bad decision-making, infrastructural shortcomings, technical failures and weather conditions all contributed to the disaster.
Of major concern is the revelation that a number of modifications to the vessel's original configuration resulted in technical shortcomings, which rendered the vessel unsafe, in spite of it having a permit to take tourists on dolphin and whale-watching excursions in 2011, reports Independent Online
Of the eight "causes" listed in the conclusion of the report, seven were the direct result of negligence or inexperience, and thus avoidable. The South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) is still completing its investigation, but its initial report revealed the main causes of the incident, Independent Online reports.
Read the full article on www.iol.co.za
