Ferry Crew Criticised for Radar Use Before Fatal Collision, Court Hears

A maritime safety expert has told a Jersey court it was “not acceptable” that a Condor ferry was not using all of its radar systems to monitor nearby vessels in the lead-up to a deadly collision with a fishing boat.

The cargo ship Commodore Goodwill struck the fishing vessel L’Ecume II on 8 December 2022, killing skipper Michael Michieli and crew members Larry Simyunn and Jervis Baligat.

Two members of the Goodwill’s deck crew, Lewis Carr and Artur Sevash-Zade, have denied three counts of gross negligence manslaughter.

Captain Brian McJury, giving evidence in the Royal Court, said he was “surprised” both the watch crew and senior officers had not made use of all electronic equipment available. “It’s common sense to use everything at your disposal,” he told jurors, adding that failing to check a radar screen for more than 15 minutes was “much too long”.

Maritime regulations require ships to keep at least one nautical mile from each other. The court heard the Goodwill did not consistently maintain this buffer, including on the morning of the crash when it passed several smaller boats shortly after leaving Guernsey.

Capt McJury also criticised the timing of the watch handover, saying he would have expected Mr Carr to be on deck before his 04:45 shift to fully understand the vessel’s position. “If the officer had been on the bridge for some time… I would’ve expected a question to be raised rather than continuing ahead and passing closer than the one-mile minimum,” he said.

While the ferry had left Guernsey more than half an hour late, the captain stressed that schedule pressure should never influence collision-avoidance decisions. “It may add pressure, but it wouldn’t compromise passing at a distance that wasn’t safe,” he told the court.

The hearing was also told that L’Ecume II, with a steel superstructure above a wooden hull, would have shown up clearly on radar. In fact, the Goodwill’s equipment detected the fishing boat at 05:15—around 20 minutes before the fatal crash.

The trial continues.