UNSAFE VESSEL LANDS OWNER IN COURT

At a hearing yesterday at Torquay Magistrates Court, the owner of a former fishing vessel was found guilty of two offences under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.
Perry Britton was convicted of charge brought under s284 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 for allowing the Greitje to ‘jump detention’.  He was also found guilty of one charge brought under s260 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 for failing to respond to a Direction Order.  He was fined £500 plus costs of £250.
The former fishing vessel Grietje had arrived in Brixham Harbour in 2005 but plans to convert her into a houseboat came to nought.  Her condition deteriorated and the Greitje was detained as dangerously unsafe by the MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency).  Over the following years new owners came and went but nothing was done to rectify the poor condition of the Greitje.  Eventually the vessel was seized by the local harbour authorities and offered for sale.  The vessel was bought for £1 by 56-year-old Perry Britton of Somerset Road East, Barry in May 2010.  He was advised by the MCA that the Greitje was detained and should not sail for Brixham without clearance.  Over the ensuing months, many reminders about the detention were given by the MCA.  The Agency also attempted to engage with Mr Britton about any plans to repair the vessel.  Despite all the warnings, etc, on the 2nd June 2011 the Greitje disappeared from its berth in Brixham. As a result of concerns about the condition of the vessel and its fitness to be at sea, a search operation to locate the Greitje was commenced by the Coastguard. It was eventually located off Cornwall heading west.  It eventually arrived in Cardiff on the 7th June 2011 where it was re-detained by the MCA.  As a result an investigation into the voyage of Greitje was started.  Mr Britton failed to respond to any attempt by the MCA to contact him for his version of events surrounding the voyage between Brixham and Cardiff.
Subsequently Mr Britton was served with a Direction Order issued in accordance with the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 requiring him to produce any documentation relating to any alleged sale of the vessel.  However he failed to respond.
When announcing their decision, the Chairman of the Bench stated that the evidence of Mr. Britton was unconvincing and not credible. Mr. Britton was fined £500 plus £250 costs after taking into account his current financial situation.
Mr Carl Graddage, Area Operations Manager (Survey & Inspection) for Bristol Channel area said: “HM Coastguard took actions to locate the vessel which had left Brixham heading for Wales, as there was concern for the safety of those onboard due to the condition of the vessel. 
“Vessels are detained by the MCA as a last resort, when it would be dangerous to allow them to go to sea.  By allowing the Greitje to sail Mr Britton placed the lives of those onboard at great risk.”

Popular posts from this blog

Label your kit at the coast

Image
Kayaks. Canoes. Paddleboards. What do they all have in common? They’re quite often found on the coastline or drifting out to sea. And if we don’t know who they belong to, we can spend time searching for an owner when they’re home safe and sound. So please help us to help you. Label your kit so that if you do get separated from it, and it turns up somewhere, we can get hold of you. In recent weeks, our Coastguard Rescue Teams have found numerous items such as kayaks and canoes drifting out at sea or abandoned near the shoreline. Unfortunately, some of the items we have found have not had their owners’ contact details written on them nor been reported as missing to the Coastguard. As a result, it makes it difficult for us to find out who it belongs to and also means we can never be completely sure if someone is safe or in the worst case, in trouble at sea. This can place a huge strain on our resources especially during the busy summer period when we have to call upon our Coastgua
Read more

A short history of HM Coastguard

Image
Today HM Coastguard is a world leader in maritime search and rescue. Looking back almost 200 years, the goods, which now travel by road, were carried by hundreds of small ships. Year in year out dozens of ships and hundreds of lives were lost within sight of the coast. Public shock and dismay at the tragedies drove forward the creation of national life saving organisations. Though it’s beginnings lie in those decades HM Coastguard originated not to meet the dangers of the seas but to combat a threat to the country’s economy and security – smuggling. As soon as medieval taxes were charged on imports and exports, people began smuggling. By 1743 th e estimate was that half the tea drunk in Britain was illegally imported and shows that smuggling was highly profitable. Smugglers have often been romanticised but the reality was brutal. Local people lived in fear, with violent reprisals on informers and the murder of revenue officers, while corruption enabled smugglers to evade harsh p
Read more

BOSCASTLE FLOODS: TEN YEARS ON

Image
Boscastle Flooding 16 th August 2004 The storms of Monday 16 August 2004 saw three weeks worth of rain fall in one day. The resulting water began to be funnelled down the valleys surrounding Boscastle and soon the steep roads became rivers. By the time that the water reached the picturesque village, it had picked up enough momentum to become a raging torrent, sweeping into buildings, washing cars away and felling huge trees. Graham King runs the Witches Museum in Boscastle and was also the station officer for the Boscastle Coastguard Rescue Team at the time of the floods: “ My museum is situated next to the harbour near the river ,” says Graham “ and I can see the coastguard equipment store from there. Initially I was concerned that the vehicle and equipment were going to become stranded but I soon began to realise how quickly the situation was deteriorating and called Falmouth Coastguard ” From that point on the villagers and tourists stranded in flood waters were he
Read more