Fatal Accident on QM2

[Erik Wood]

My question is if the ship was in dry dock, what where 48 people doing on a gangway over the dry basin?? Has anybody seen picturs of the gangway, or have any information on it's construction and type?? It being a shipyard I don't think it was the normal passenger ramp.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

I wish I had an answer for that one. That little newsbyte on the CargoLaw website indicated that the gangway used was a 1 metre wide replacement for a much beefier rig that was 1.4 metres wide. What I'm wondering is why the switch?

 

[Nicolas Roughol]

Here's some new information given by a French newspaper (Le Parisien) in today's edition: the maximum weight the gangway could handle was 3 tons. While the 48 people being on the gangway on that fatal day amounted to 3.5 tons. Overweight is no question.

Also, the Chantiers de l'Atlantique passed an order on Nov 8th (one week before the accident) for a sign that was supposed to indicate that the gangway itself was not for public use, however the sign was never delivered on time. The gangway itself was commissioned only to serve for cargo handling. The order requested that the gangway handles a maximum weight of 1.5 tons.

Additionnaly, it seems that the 48 people stationned on the gangway were waiting for an ID Check, that was supposed to be handled on shore of course. Only it didn't.

It seems also, according to a testimony, that the collapsed gangway was the only one available that day (while the visit itself had been organized long before, so time was not an issue in finding an appropriate gangway).

All of these elements, according to the newspaper, come directly from the preliminary investigation led by the local court of justice.

 

[Brian R Peterson]

The "man in the hull" Great Eastern story, however popular it may be, if false. When the great ship was being broken down no bodies were ever found.

The Great Eastern suffered all of her misfortunes due to the fact that she was never designed for the TransAtlantic run and not because of a dead man's curse.

Best Regards,

Brian

 

[Michael H. Standart]

From The Scotsman:

Shipbuilder on trial over gangway deaths on liner

quote:

THE French shipbuilder of the giant luxury liner Queen Mary 2 went on trial yesterday charged with the manslaughter of 16 people and injuring 29 after they fell 18 metres to the ground when a walkway collapsed during a visit.

The shipbuilder, Les Chantiers de l'Atlantique, Endel, which it subcontracted to build the walkway, and four employees of each firm face up to three years' imprisonment for involuntary injury and manslaughter.

Full story at http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1610882007

Comment: It sure took long enough for this shoe to drop!

 

[Jonathan Granato]

Pretty hard cheese for a new liner, eh?

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>Pretty hard cheese for a new liner, eh?<<

More like for the shipyard since they're the ones who screwed up on this one.

 

[Mike Poirier]

This is amusing since the French shipbuilder had claimed the reason the furniture kept breaking on the QM2 was due to fat Americans!

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>This is amusing since the French shipbuilder had claimed the reason the furniture kept breaking on the QM2 was due to fat Americans!<<

They may have a point, but the worst consequence of that is embarrassment and some bruises. The fisco with the gangway killed people. If they're going to use "The Fat American Defence" for that one, I hope they don't mind too much when the judge and jury take an hour to stop laughing!

 

[Jim Kalafus]

We never DID learn the nationality of the passenger who died on the maiden voyage, and was offloaded in Barbados.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

From The International Herald Tribune:

French trial wraps up in deadly Queen Mary 2 accident, verdict set for February

quote:

SAINT-NAZAIRE, France: A French court wrapped up an emotional trial Tuesday into a deadly accident on the world's largest ocean liner, the Queen Mary 2, setting a February verdict date.

>snip<

If convicted, the individuals face up to 3 years in prison and €45,000 (US$63,600) in fines. The companies, which have denied responsibility for the accident, would face much larger fines.

For the rest, click on http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/23/europe/EU-GEN-France-Queen-Mary-Accident.php

Comment: Nobody will ever be able to accuse the French of rushing to justice at this rate. Watch this space in February 2008!

 

[Michael H. Standart]

From The Charlotte Observer:

Companies fined in Queen Mary 2 accident

quote:

SAINT-NAZAIRE, France --A French court on Monday ordered two construction companies to pay $13.8 million in damages for their roles in a deadly shipyard accident on the world's largest ocean liner, the Queen Mary 2.

For the rest, see http://www.charlotte.com/world/story/488690.html

 

[Michael H. Standart]

From The Maritime Global Net:

SUSPENDED JAIL TERMS FOR QM2 BUILDERS

quote:

An appeal court in France has handed suspended prison sentences to two workers from shipyard Chantiers de l'Atlantique and two from subcontractor Endel over the collapse of a walkway at the yard six years ago...

More at http://www.mglobal.com/news/dailystorydetails.cfm?storyid=10050&type=2