Jury Cites Cost-Cutting In Fatal Capsize Verdict

Jury Cites Cost-Cutting In Fatal Capsize Verdict

- Kim Kavin

Aretrial is expected on manslaughter charges in the case ofCheeki Rafiki, a Beneteau First 40.7 that capsized in 2014 more than 620 miles off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, killing four British sailors. The boat was en route to England after competing in Antigua Sailing Week.

In mid-July, a jury voted 10-1 in England to convict Douglas Innes, director of Cheeki Rafiki’s management company, Storm force Coaching Ltd., on a charge of breaching Section 100 of the U.K.’s Merchant Shipping Act. That section states that it is a ship owner’s duty “to take all reasonable steps to secure that the ship is operated in a safe manner.”

The jury, after four days of deliberations, failed to reach a verdict on four manslaughter charges in the deaths of the Cheeki Rafiki crew: Paul Goslin, 56; Steve Warren, 52; Andrew Bridge, 22; and James Male, 22.

The capsize became an international incident when the U.S. Coast Guard called off its search for the sailors after 53 hours. According to a report by British investigators, conditions at the time of the incident included 28-knot winds and seas bigger than 15 feet. During the ensuing couple of days, the Coast Guard reported search conditions with 30- to 50-knot winds and 12- to 15-foot seas. Those conditions, plus a water temperature of 61 F, led the Coast Guard to estimate maximum survival time at 20 hours, far less than the 53 hours the agency searched.

Nevertheless, an online petition with more than 240,000 signatures urged the Coast Guard to resume its efforts, and well-known personalities became involved. British yachtsman and entrepreneur Richard Branson took to Twitter in support of the campaign. Top sailors, including Ellen MacArthur, Mike Golding, Sir Robin Knox Johnston and Sir Ben Ainslie, also urged the Coast Guard to keep looking.