A skipper from Harlingen was sentenced on Thursday by the court in Leeuwarden to 150 hours of community service for culpable homicide. A 12-year-old girl died on the sailing ship the skipper was sailing on in August last year. The ship’s boom broke off and landed on top of the girl. The girl was on a school excursion.
The Public Prosecution Service had demanded a prison sentence of six months and a professional ban of 2.5 years. The judge does not consider the latter necessary. The skipper has been given a suspended prison sentence of three months.
The judge ruled that the skipper was negligent because the sailing ship ‘Risico’ of Rederij Vooruit was not in good condition. There were wind cracks in the boom, where water could collect, resulting in wood rot. A boom is the wooden part of a sailing ship to which the bottom of the sail is attached. Moreover, the skipper went sailing while the ship’s inspection certificates had expired. The mast and rigging of sailing passenger ships must be checked every 2.5 years, but the ‘Risk’ inspection certificate had expired six weeks ago.
The Dutch Safety Board (OVV) concluded in September that the safety culture among skippers of sailing ships (the ‘Brown Fleet’) is not in order and that government supervision is inadequate. Some skippers do not have enough knowledge about their ships, the OVV wrote, and pay too little attention to safety.
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