Ferry Officer Cleared Of Yacht Deaths

A car ferry officer has been found not guilty of the manslaughter of three crewmen who died when their yacht sank in the English Channel.

Michael Hubble, 62, was accused of failing to raise the alarm when the P&O car ferry Pride of Bilbao allegedly narrowly missed the yacht Ouzo off the Isle of Wight last year.

James Meaby and Rupert Saunders, both 36, from Tooting, and Jason Downer, 35, from Kent were killed when the yacht sank on August 21 last year.

Hubble, of Wine House Lane, Capel-le-Ferne, Folkestone, was officer of the watch of ferry when the alleged incident occurred. He had denied manslaughter through gross negligence.

The jury at Winchester Crown Court is still considering separate charges under the Merchant Shipping Act of engaging in conduct as a seaman that was likely to cause death or serious injury to the three men.

During the trial, the jury heard that the three crewmen of the Ouzo were school and university friends who had left Bembridge on the Isle of Wight on the evening tide of August 20 to travel to Devon to participate in the Dartmouth regatta.

The court heard that Mr Saunders was the owner and skipper of the Ouzo, which was 24 years old, but well maintained and equipped, and that all three men were experienced sailors. They were all found dead wearing inflated lifejackets.

During the trial, Hubble consistently said that he had had a close-quarters incident with a yacht, which was not the Ouzo. He also told the court that he was "perfectly happy" that the ferry had missed a yacht and that he believed he had no reason to call the captain.

Experts from South Tyneside College also said that they had calculated that the Ouzo was close to a 3,000-tonne coastal tanker called Crescent Beaune and not the Pride of Bilbao around 1.40am on August 21.

Alaistair Crichton, captain of the tanker, told the court that he had broken the law when he had only a second officer and not another lookout on the bridge that evening.

(KMcA)