Incident report reveals computer failure as cause of Jersey ferry collision

An onboard computer failure caused a passenger ferry to collide with a small leisure craft in Saint Helier harbour in Jersey earlier this year, according to a recently released incident report.

A report provided by Ports of Jersey stated that the incident occurred as the 41-metre-long Granville was about to berth at Saint Helier's Albert Pier on May 13.

The master had transferred control of the vessel to the exterior port-side wing controls to ensure the berthing procedure was done properly. However, as he put the vessel into reverse, he noticed that the lights indicating the successful transfer of control had remained switched off.

The master then shouted an order to an operator manning the interior controls to put Granville into reverse, but the latter was unable to do so in time, causing the ferry to hit a 10-metre-long yacht moored at the pier.

The yacht sustained slight damage in the collision. No injuries were reported on either vessel.

The failure in the transfer of controls on Granville was traced to a faulty computer-processing unit, which has since been replaced.

Ports of Jersey has recommended that transfer of controls during berthing be done earlier in anticipation of potential similar equipment failures in future.