DEATH BY MISADVENTURE Cruise line absolved of blame

Posted on 04/29/2016

A coroner’s inquest into the death of a 75 year old woman who died trying to board a cruise ship has resulted in a verdict of ‘death by misadventure.’ Mary Atherton’s misfortune was deemed the result of an accident, rather than negligence on the part of Cunard, or its parent company Carnival UK.

Atherton was attempting to step onto a pontoon from a tender when a wave caused a 40 cm gap and she fell into the water. She was crushed between the two vessels and killed, in spite of crew members jumping into the water to try to save her. 

The woman’s family has said that the cruise line should have informed tender crew members of Atherton’s mobility issues, but coroner Dr James Adeley suggested it was impractical for crew members to have been aware of all the mobility information for 1,800 passengers using the tender. 

He also discounted the fact that poorly trained crew members contributed to Atherton’s death. An independent marine expert, Captain Christopher Metson said that boarding should have been aborted due to the conditions of the waters but Dr Adeley said that comment was ambiguous and benefited from hindsight. 

The accident has resulted in Carnival UK implementing new safety measures, more training and employing an additional crew member. They have also designed a new system for transfers to and from tenders; a ‘brow’ type of mobile gangway. "This has been a difficult week, especially for the family and witnesses," said Carnival UK CEO David Noyes. 

"I would like to thank them and the Coroner for ensuring that this has been a thorough investigation and inquest. As a result, we are confident that significant lessons have been learnt from this tragic accident and, consequently, the safety of all cruise line tender operations can be enhanced."