On 13 May Manche Iles Express’s Granville vessel was making its way into the Harbour at seven knots, having come from Sark, to berth alongside the Albert Pier.
During the berthing procedure, the 58-year-old master of the boat transferred control onto the port-side ‘wing’ controls on the outside deck of the vessel.
However, as he went to put Granville into reverse, he realised that the lights, which indicate the successful transfer of control, had not come on.
According to the report, he immediately shouted to his staff captain, who was still at the interior controls, to put the vessel into reverse but he was not able to do so in time.
Travelling at around three knots, the vessel then hit the ten-metre-long Shamu and the pontoon to which it had been moored.
No one was injured on either vessel, but the accident caused damage to the exterior of the yacht, its wind turbine mast, deck, deck ladder and handrail.
The skipper of Shamu was inside the boat at the time of the incident and an account of his experience was included in the report.
It said: ‘He heard people shouting “astern, astern” and others shouting in panic.
‘He felt something on top of the stern of Shamu and looked out of the port forward bow window to see the anchor of the ferry.
‘He immediately went out on deck as he felt the weight of the ferry roll off the stern.’
Ports of Jersey, which compiled the report, found that the vessel’s speed of seven knots was a contributing factor and recommended that the transfer of control to the ‘wing’ should take place earlier to allow for any potential failures.
It was later discovered that a computer-processing unit was to blame for the failure and the unit was replaced.
However, the control system suffered another failure while it was in Sark later in the year and Granville was taken out of service while it was repaired.
