The Public Prosecution Service (IM) in Northern Netherlands has demanded 180 hours of community service and a conditional prison sentence of 3 months against a 35-year-old man from the municipality of Harns and a 49-year-old man from Terschelling.
In that accident, four people lost their lives. One of them was a 12-year-old boy. His body has never been found. Four others, including the 35-year-old suspect, were (seriously) injured. The IM prosecutes both skippers for manslaughter and causing serious bodily harm through negligence and for sinking a vessel resulting in death or danger to life.
Colossal loss
The collision has forever changed the lives of all those involved. For the relatives, the loss is colossal. Two and a half years after the accident, they are gradually trying to pick up their lives again, say the justice officials. “But the loss will always remain. This criminal procedure cannot take that away or compensate for it. There will be no punishment that does justice to the suffering inflicted on them.”
Too fast
The 35-year-old suspect is the skipper of a water taxi and the 49-year-old suspect is the captain of a ferry. The ferry and the water taxi were supposed to pass each other on that fateful day around a quarter past seven in the morning in the Skûtengat, a shipping channel south of Terschelling. At that time, a maximum speed of 20 km/h applies in that channel. The water taxi travels at about 30 km/h, while the ferry travels at about 55 km/h.
Starboard and portside
It is still dark on the Wadden Sea as the two boats come closer to each other. The captain of the ferry contacts the skipper of the water taxi shortly before the collision via the VHF radio. He asks what to do, to which the skipper of the water taxi replies: “Just say it.” The ferry captain then proposes to pass each other on the starboard side, as the water taxi is already veering and is somewhat on the wrong side of its channel. There is no response to that proposal. The ‘conversation’ of 20 seconds ends without agreements; the boats are still about 400 meters apart.
After the conversation, the ferry captain assumes that the boats will pass each other on their starboard sides, while it is customary on the water to do so on the port side. The IM also establishes that at the very last moment, the water taxi makes a steering movement to starboard, causing the vessel to enter the ferrys shipping area. Shortly thereafter, they collide with each other.
Multiple factors
According to the IM, the accident occurred because both skippers should have acted differently and earlier. For example, they should have slowed down. At a lower speed, the boats would have had more time to properly assess the situation.
Additionally, the VHF radio communication did not go well, say the justice officials. The skipper of the water taxi should have responded to the proposal from the ferry captain, and at the same time, the captain should have asked for confirmation.
The IM believes that both skippers should have been more cautious in this situation. The ferry captain should have clearly indicated which course he would take, and the skipper of the water taxi should not have made a steering movement towards the ferry at the very last moment.
Large sailing license
At the time of the accident, a large sailing license was required for operating a water taxi. The 35-year-old suspect did not have one. Although a tolerance policy was enforced on the Wadden Sea, allowing operation without a large sailing license on water taxis, this was not permitted at the time of the accident. A condition of the tolerance was that sailing without a license was not allowed in the dark.
Life line
The ferry and the water taxi are the lifelines of the island residents, say the justice officials. “Without these boats and people, like the suspects, they cannot go to school, to the hospital, get married, work, or go on vacation. Conversely, the boats bring tourists and visitors to the islands. The boat is part of life.”
The justice officials believe that both suspects have damaged the trust of the island residents and other passengers by their careless and inattentive sailing. “They must be able to trust that it is safe on board and that sailing is done safely.”
