Sinking of yacht could have been avoided, report reveals
The "Isamar" which sank on Aug 17, 2013 , after hitting a reef off Rocappina, sailed without radar and updated maps according to a report of the British Marine Accident Investigation Branch.
The MAIB reports that sea conditions were good on the day of the shipwreck and for this reason the captain had decided to sail without radar.
Worse, the "Isamar" lacked nautical charts, and ethe lectronic GPS maps were outdated. When the yacht struck rocks of Olmeto Point, Roccapina, at 5:30 that day, the master rushed into the engine room which had already flooded half a meter.
He tried to drain the water with one of the pumps, leaving a watertight door open. Although the ship sank in about three hours , the MAIB notes in its conclusions that it probably could have stayed afloat longer, if the watertight door of the engine room had been closed and the pumps used to their maximum capacity.
The eight passengers and three crew members had been rescued before the ship sank. This week the wreck which is resting in a depth of 56 meters off Corsica was the subject of diving surveys which revealed that the ship has been looted since.
The "Isamar" which sank on Aug 17, 2013 , after hitting a reef off Rocappina, sailed without radar and updated maps according to a report of the British Marine Accident Investigation Branch.
The MAIB reports that sea conditions were good on the day of the shipwreck and for this reason the captain had decided to sail without radar.
Worse, the "Isamar" lacked nautical charts, and ethe lectronic GPS maps were outdated. When the yacht struck rocks of Olmeto Point, Roccapina, at 5:30 that day, the master rushed into the engine room which had already flooded half a meter.
He tried to drain the water with one of the pumps, leaving a watertight door open. Although the ship sank in about three hours , the MAIB notes in its conclusions that it probably could have stayed afloat longer, if the watertight door of the engine room had been closed and the pumps used to their maximum capacity.
The eight passengers and three crew members had been rescued before the ship sank. This week the wreck which is resting in a depth of 56 meters off Corsica was the subject of diving surveys which revealed that the ship has been looted since.