The increase in collisions involving speedboats at sea is taking on alarming proportions, since the Department of Merchant Shipping has been counting 4 serious accidents since last June. The most recent was last Sunday, when before 15:00 on the beach of Konnos, at the municipal border Paralimni-Ayia Napa, a boat driven by a private speedboat driver collided with an inflatable armchair, which was being towed by a speedboat . Three tourists, aged 25, 22 and 18, were riding in the inflatable armchair of Mike Watersports, with 25-year-old British Cypriot Rachel Hatzitofi estimated to be still in critical condition after repeated surgeries at the Nicosia General Hospital. As "P" is informed, the propeller of the private speedboat, while maneuvering in order to avoid the inflatable trailer, hit the unfortunate 25-year-old in the body. According to information from "P", the private driver of the speedboat claimed that he did not see the inflatable trailer.
The accident in Konnos was the fourth serious accident in which small speedboats were involved this summer. In July, a professional Cypriot navigator, with a family of Chinese tourists, was nailed to the rocks in the Blue Lagoon sea area in Paphos province. A 32-year-old Chinese woman was pulled out of the collision dead. In June in Larnaca, a 34-year-old Briton was also critically injured when his speedboat parachute fell into the sea after being hit by a metal beam that had detached from the speedboat. Also in June, a 28-year-old man was hospitalized with first-degree burns when an inflatable exploded in the port of Latsi. The 28-year-old was on the boat to repair it. Last Sunday's sea collision in Konnos is the fourth serious accident assessed by the Merchant Shipping Department for this summer, while in previous years TEN counted one or two similar accidents. It is noted that tragedies that were avoided by chance, such as the jet ski collision that was navigating a tourist with an inflatable banana trailer in the Coral Bay in Paphos last July, are not recorded in serious accidents. The TEN investigation into the most serious accident in Blue Lagoon has not yet been completed, while for the new accident in Conn, yesterday a TEN inspector arrived in the area to take deposits. In the police aspect of the investigation of the accident, according to the Police, testimonies were taken from the navigators involved to be released later. Breath test was not performed on boat operators.
The revision of the regulations for speedboats is urgent
According to the senior inspector of ships in the Department of Merchant Shipping, Kyriakos Koufteros, the increase in maritime collisions involving small high-speed vessels is recorded, but is not considered large. Each incident is evaluated in the context of special circumstances, with the responsibility of TEN not to pass to the police investigation of the circumstances of each accident. The purpose of the TEN investigation is to identify any gaps in the legislation and the ongoing audits. As it turns out, the fact that the four accidents this year do not have many similarities in terms of their conditions does not allow to draw general conclusions. However, an accident in July in Coral Bay, which did not have any serious injuries and is not recorded by TEN in serious accidents for the summer, is similar in terms of the accident in Konno last Sunday. That is, a private navigator with a private or rented boat collided with an inflatable towed by a professional navigator.
The 1999 regulations themselves, which are required to be followed by professionals providing marine recreational services, state the obligation of the operator of a speedboat towing a surface-loaded trailer not to approach the nearest shore less than 200 meters and 100 meters parallel to the shore bounded bathers area. The regulations below stipulate that within the channels between bathing areas, the development of speed in excess of 3 knots is prohibited, while mooring within the channels is also prohibited. The operating conditions of the channels are not specified in the regulations of TEN, but in a decree of the Ministry of Interior based on the Law on the Protection of Bathers at Sea. The fact that the operating licenses of marine recreation professionals are issued by the local government further complicates the diversity around the controls of licensed pilots and their speedboats. According to information from "P", last Sunday's accident, although outside the bathers' area, happened during the return of the professional from the towing of the inflatable chair.
Source: CITIZEN