This picture of the cruise liner Hamburg was taken on 11th May shortly after she had visited Tobermory. What we didn't know at the time was that, during her entry into Tobermory Bay, she had grazed a rock and damaged one propellor, after which the port engine failed and there was a temporary blackout. The incident, which was caused by a failure in seamanship while the captain was absent from the bridge, appears not to have been reported and only came to light by chance.
The captain was fined a paltry £800 for an incident which, as the MCA surveyor said, "could very nearly have ended in tragedy." This needs now to be added to the list of groundings in the Sound of Mull over the last few years, involving the
Lysfoss, the
Fri Ocean, and the
Lysblink Seaways.Full story
here.
Yes Jon like yourself I noticed on BBC SCOTLAND news the article about the Hamburg, it would seem that commercial decisions come before safety, like you say a paltry fine.
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