3PB's head of maritime team David Richards defends in "The City of Rotterdam" case

13th November 2017

Head of 3PB's maritime team David Richards defended the Pilot of the City of Rotterdam in Hull Crown Court on a charge of misconduct endangering a ship following a collision with the Primula Seaways on 3rd December 2015. The prosecution initially alleged a variety of failures by the Pilot but were persuaded that he was subject to ‘Relative Motion Illusion’ caused by the non SOLAS compliant design of the ship’s bridge and bridge windows: the pilot’s error amounted simply to not taking sufficient steps to break himself out the effects of that illusion. In a highly technical case involving assessment of the conduct of the Master (co-accused), the Pilot, the crew of the Primula Seaways and the impact of the limited measures taken by the City of Rotterdam to address RMI, the accused was able to plead guilty on this very limited basis.

This was one of the first prosecutions of a pilot for this offence in the Crown Court.