THE Jersey Lifeboat Association’s super-fast RIB has been damaged after being hit by a cargo ship.
JLA chair Simon O’Donoghue said the freight vessel Trinity had ‘clipped’ the charity’s inshore craft Albert Pinel, which was on its mooring in the Harbour, causing minor damage to its propellers.
The incident, which happened at about 6pm on Friday, is to be investigated by Ports of Jersey.
Mr O’Donoghue said: ‘It [Trinity] was just turning in the Harbour and clipped it. She [Albert Pinel] does protrude a bit – we have actually made comments before about the mooring space being a little bit too exposed – but that is no excuse [for the collision to have happened].’
He explained that the damage was ‘superficial’ and that the craft was still ‘workable’.
‘We will hear from the insurance company and fix whatever needs fixing but we weren’t active on the vessel at the time so it is purely a harbours issue,’ he added.
In a statement, Ports of Jersey said: ‘A freight ship clipped the Jersey Lifeboat Association’s RIB as it was manoeuvring out of the Harbour from its berth on New North Quay on Friday. The JLA boat was moored on a pontoon at the time.
‘An investigation will be conducted into the incident, and the resulting report will be published on Ports of Jersey’s website.’
The JLA is still seeking to regain its status as a search-and-rescue operator after having to suspend official operations in 2021 when its all-weather vessel, Sir Max Aitken III, hit rocks near Noirmont while the crew was on its way to assist a French yacht.
Mr O’Donoghue confirmed that negotiations had continued since he took over the role of chair from former Senator Ben Shenton who said in January that ‘a ‘fresh approach might help move things forward’.
Mr O’Donoghue said: ‘We have had various meetings with Ports and are hoping for an answer later this week.’
