OWNER OF THAMES CRUISE VESSEL FINED FOR NO PASSENGER SAFETY CERTIFICATE
At the City of London Magistrates today, Colin Bullock, the
Director of River Thames Boat Hire Ltd, pleaded guilty to two offences under
the Merchant Shipping Act.
Mr Bullock was the owner and sole operator of the Kingwood,
a Thames steamer cruise boat, built in 1915. The vessel’s Passenger Safety
certificate expired on 23rd January 2013.
At approximately 9pm on New Year’s Eve 2013, the Kingwood
was involved in a stern-to-stern collision while it was attempting to berth at
Greenwich pier. There were no injuries and only minimal damage was sustained to
the vessel. The Kingwood was due to be used as a party boat for the New Year’s
celebrations despite not having a valid passenger safety certificate.
The event had been advertised online as a four and a half
hour cruise embarking from Greenwich Pier. The price per passenger was £140
including alcoholic drinks, 99 tickets had been sold. The cruise was
abandoned. At the time Mr Bullock was acting as the Master of the Kingwood.
Mr Bullock was subsequently interviewed by members of the
MCA Enforcement Unit and admitted that during 2013, he had carried out 30
cruises even though he was aware he had no certification. Mr Bullock’s Boat
Master Licence (BML) had also expired some two years previously, he admitted
carrying out 90 trips without a valid BML. Mr Bullock no longer owns the
Kingwood.
The Chairman of the Bench said in passing sentence that he
was concerned any insurance would have been invalidated during the 90 trips.
Mr Bullock was fined £3,000 for each offence and £5,000
costs, £120 victims surcharge totalling £11,120.
Andy Rudge, Area Operations Manager for the Maritime &
Coastguard Agency said, “To ensure the safety of the travelling public it is
important that passenger vessels complete safety surveys and are properly
manned with qualified crew at all times.”