The Merchant Shipping Directorate within Transport Malta and the Marine Safety Investigation Unit (MSIU) are separately investigating the cause of the lifeboat accident, which resulted in the death of five crew members on board the Maltese registered passenger ship Thomson Majesty, on Sunday 10 February 2013. The investigations are being carried out in full cooperation with the relevant Spanish authorities.

It has been established that during a routine lifeboat drill, one of the wire ropes snapped and consequently the lifeboat fell into the sea, capsizing and trapping eight crew members inside.  Five crew members lost their lives as a result of the accident whilst the other three crew members were rescued with the assistance of local authorities.  The injured crew members were transferred to a local hospital for treatment. It has been reported that the injuries sustained by the three crew members are not life threatening.

Presently the ship is still berthed at the port of Santa Cruz de la Palma in the Canary Islands where the accident happened. Investigations are still underway in order to identify the causal and contributing factors that led to the accident. Additionally, the integrity of all the other lifeboats and launching systems are being thoroughly assessed.

An MSIU investigator, who is accompanied by a safety investigator from the Spanish Marine Safety Investigation Commission, is onboard the ship since Monday evening. The investigating team is also being assisted by the MSIU in Malta. Furthermore, the Merchant Shipping Directorate has also deployed a flag State inspector to attend the ship. The Directorate is also in direct liaison with the ship’s classification society and the ISM managers of the ship.

The outcome of the MSIU investigation will be released to the public once the safety investigation is complete, in accordance with the relevant legislation.