Man overboard from ocean rowing boat Toby Wallace with loss of 1 life
Location: North Atlantic Ocean.
Accident Investigation Report 2/2017
Investigation report into marine accident including what happened and safety lessons learned:
Summary
On 14 February 2016, the 10.8m ocean rowing boat Toby Wallace was on passage in the North Atlantic Ocean, between the Canary Islands and Barbados, during which a rower was fatally swept overboard by a large wave. The seven rowers remaining on board were unable to stop the boat and they eventually lost sight of the rower.
Safety lessons
- a rower was washed overboard and drifted away from the ocean rowing boat because he was not suitably tethered
- likelihood of survival was reduced by not wearing a lifejacket or personal locator beacon (PLB)
- safety standards and crew preparation were insufficient to deal with the risks faced
- commercially operated ocean rowing boats are not regulated and no minimum safety standards have been set
Recommendations
Recommendations have been made to British Rowing (2016/101 and 2016/102), the governing body for ocean rowing in England, and to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (2016/101) that are intended to improve the governance of UK registered ocean rowing boats and ensure minimum safety standards on board those that are commercially operated.
A recommendation made to Oceanus Rowing Ltd (2016/103) is aimed at improving the safety of its boats on ocean crossings in the future.