The victims and relatives of the serious accident near Terschelling hope that the investigation report will contribute to a safer Wadden Sea. They announced this through their lawyer Nanne Greven.
On Wednesday, the Dutch Safety Board (OVV) presented an investigation into the collision between the fast boat Tiger and the water taxi Stormloper. Four passengers of the water taxi died off the coast of Terschelling on Friday, October 21, 2022, and the four other passengers were injured.
Lawyer Greven, together with his colleague Calle Dijkstra-Keuning, is assisting all relatives of the four fatal victims of the accident. In addition, they support almost all the people who were injured. They were on the water taxi Stormloper.
According to Greven, his clients hope that “the report and the action plan will contribute to a safer Wadden Sea.” They appreciate that the OVV “calls the companies involved to account for their responsibility.”
Too hard
The lawyer says his clients are referring to “all recommendations in the report.” “Such as preventing people from sailing too fast, creating a definition for the water taxi company, and so on.”
According to the OVV, there is currently no legal definition of the concept of water taxi. “This lack of clarity means that both entrepreneurs and implementing agencies give their own interpretation to this,” the researchers write.
They also conclude, among other things, that the fast boat and water taxi are structurally sailing too fast in the Schuitengat. They were repeatedly reminded of their violations by traffic controllers at the Brandaris lighthouse. In addition, the skipper and captain communicated unclearly.
Persecution
Last July, the Public Prosecution Service announced that it would prosecute the skipper and captain of both boats for their part in the accident. The Public Prosecution Service accuses them, among other things, of feeding too hard. Rightly so, say the victims, but “our clients think that the key to preventing future accidents now lies with Rederij Doeksen and the water taxi companies.”
According to lawyer Greven, this must be done under the “watchful eye of the government”. The OVV believes that Rijkswaterstaat can make better use of AIS and radar data to enforce speed. The Ministry of Infrastructure could adjust relevant legislation and regulations for this.