Grounding of passenger catamaran Trident VI

Location: Near Herm Island, Guernsey, Channel Islands.

Accident Investigation Report 1/2004

Read our marine accident investigation report, which includes what happened, actions taken, and recommendations:

Trident VI.pdf (1,850.87 kb)

Summary

At about 2255 (UTC + 1) on 23 August 2003, the Guernsey registered passenger catamaran Trident VI ran aground on Percée Rocks near Herm Island in the Channel Islands. There were 179 passengers on board, together with the skipper, engineer and a crewman. The vessel suffered extensive damage but nobody on board was injured and there was no pollution.

Safety Issues

This accident raised issues regarding blind pilotage, licensing of skippers, safety management and the vessel’s manoeuvrability.

Recommendations

Recommendations have been made to the owners with regard to the vessel’s manoeuvrability, and to the States of Guernsey Board of Administration regarding the local requirements for safety management systems. The latter has also been recommended to encourage operators to fit the equipment required to stabilise radars and chart plotters.

This report was published in January 2004.

Published 23 January 2015