Commentary on the Loss of the Yacht OUZO

By Dennis London
ACR Director of European Sales

It is well known that ACR’s equipment can help speed rescue to survivors. Read on to learn how one of ACR’s latest products, the Nauticast-B™ Class B AIS, can prevent tragedy…

The yacht OUZO left her mooring in Bembridge, Isle of Wight, UK at around 20:30 on 20 August 2006. Bound for Dartmouth in Devon, with her regular crew of three, they intended to take part in the Dartmouth Royal Regatta.

A few minutes later a RO RO, (Roll-On, Roll-Off), ferry left her berth in Portsmouth on her normal 36-hour run to Bilbao, Spain, a 3-day-round-trip run that the RO RO ferry has made between Spain and the UK for the past 13 years.

The OUZO carried a 6” flat pack octahedral radar reflector that they hauled up the mast when sailing at night with the hope of improving their radar-reflectivity. This was their normal practice, as it is for most sailing vessels when in busy waters.

The authorities identified three lifeless bodies with life jackets, one found on 22 August and the other two found on the 23^rd, as the crew of the yacht OUZO. No wreckage of the OUZO has ever been found.

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) carried out an intensive investigation. They concluded that the RO RO ferry in route to Spain ran down and sank the OUZO.  

On the night in question, the bridge lookout on the RO RO ferry suddenly reported lights off the starboard bow. The second officer altered course away from the lights. The lookout then reported a small yacht close to starboard, which quickly passed from view down the starboard side. The second officer believing that the stern was swinging to starboard and in danger of striking the yacht, altered course to starboard. After a few moments, the lookout and then the second officer reported seeing a red light off the stern on the starboard quarter. Confident the yacht was clear the RO RO ferry sailed on.

It is not unusual for yachts to be run down at night. Recently a 789’ container ship, whilst sailing off the coast of Brazil, struck a 40’ ketch. A single-handed yachtsman in the English Channel recently reported a near miss with a large vessel even though he had an active radar target enhancer. Many more near misses go unreported each year.

Class B AIS, short for Automatic Identification System, is a VHF based transceiver designed for use by recreational and smaller commercial vessels. The Nauticast-B™ AIS places icons representing ship traffic within your vicinity onto the screen of your AIS compatible PC based Electronic Chart System (ECS) or chart plotter. These icons show the names of the ships, their heading, range, speed, MMSI, size, cargo and other information. Since most commercial vessels have been required to fit an AIS systems almost all commercial traffic is effectively transmitting AIS signals. In short, the helmsman of a pleasure yacht fitted with a Nauticast B™ AIS can tap into that system, day or night, fog or clear. A glance at an Electronic Chart System or chart plotter interfaced with an Nauticast-B™ AIS will reveal who is near and if you are in danger of collision. It is the first reliable means for identifying all commercial traffic within your VHF footprint.

The ACR Nauticast-B™ AIS allows you to take action to avoid collision long before the situation becomes critical. By providing the MMSI of all shipping traffic in the area, you can call the bridge of any ship bearing down on your location on your VHF DSC radio. In addition, unlike hailing “large ship, large ship” on channel 16, a call to the bridge via VHF DSC will generate a response.

Had the OUZO been fitted with an ACR Nauticast-B™ AIS and an AIS compatible PC ECS or chart plotter the presence of the RO RO ferry would have been known to OUZO long before suddenly emerging from the inky night. Had OUZO been fitted with a Nauticast-B™ AIS the OUZO would have appeared on the RO RO ferry’s mandated Class A AIS giving them ample warning that the yacht OUZO was in their path. A Nauticast-B™ would have allowed both crews to clearly see each other on the ECS, chart plotter or AIS display and receive an alert in time for each to take evasive action.

This incident and many more like it, prove that the AIS may be the single most vital piece of safety equipment to come along since the 406 MHz EPIRB. Finally, a piece of kit that can let large ships effectively see small yachts in virtually all conditions. The new ACR Nauticast-B™ Class B-AIS is competitively priced and available now.

No matter how small your craft or how far out you go to sea an emergency can still happen. Surviving an emergency can depend on having the right equipment. Fit a Nauticast-B™ Class B AIS and chances are you’ll be able to avoid the emergency all together.