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1. When
were the Inquiries into the Marchioness accident set up?
Deputy
Prime Minister John Prescott set out the full terms of reference for
the MARCHIONESS/BOWBELLE Inquiries on 14 February 2000.
The
MARCHIONESS/BOWBELLE Inquiries were ordered following the Thames
Safety Inquiry, which Lord Justice Clarke chaired in 1999.
2. What is
the timetable for the Inquiries?
The
public hearings of the formal investigation into the incident began
on 2 October 2000 and is expected to finish at the end of November
2000.
The
Non-Statutory Inquiry into the identification of victims following
major transport accidents is expected to start on Thursday 30
November and will finish probably finish before Christmas. A
full hearing timetable will be published in due course.
3. What
are the terms of reference for the Marchioness Inquiries?
Two separate inquiries
are being held with separate remits and
powers – a Formal Investigation followed by a Non-Statutory
Inquiry (NSI).
1.
The Direction for the Formal Investigation
given by The
Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions,
John Prescott, on 14 February 2000 was as follows:
Whereas
on 20 August 1989 the passenger launch MARCHIONESS registered in
London Official Number 147526 and the aggregate dredger
BOWBELLE registered in London Official Number 306078 collided
in the River Thames, whereas as result the MARCHIONESS sank with loss
of 51 lives and whereas an accident has occurred;
Now, the
Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions in
pursuance of the powers conferred by section 268 of the Merchant
Shipping Act 1995 hereby directs that a Formal Investigation shall
be held, in accordance with the Merchant Shipping (Formal
Investigation) Rules 1985, as amended by the Merchant Shipping
(Formal Investigations) (Amendment) Rules 1990, by a Wreck
Commissioner into the collision between the MARCHIONESS and the
BOWBELLE and the subsequent search and rescue operations.
2. The
terms of Reference for the Non-Statutory Inquiry (NSI) are:
To
consider and to report on the procedures followed to establish the
identity of the victims of the collision between the Bowbelle and
the Marchioness.
To review
and to report on the procedures currently followed when establishing
the identity of the victims following similar accidents.
In the
interests of minimising distress to the families of the victims:
to advise
on what additional procedures should be followed, if any, when the
need to identify victims arises following similar accidents, and
to
consider and advise on procedures for the notification and
involvement of the next of kin in cases when it is necessary to
establish the identity of such victims.
4.
What
are the facts of the case
for the FI?
The
MARCHIONESS tragedy occurred on 20 August 1989 at about 0146 when
the dredger Bowbelle collided with the Marchioness on the River
Thames with the loss of 51 lives.
5. What
are the facts of the case for the non-statutory inquiry starting on
30 November?
The
manner in which some of the bodies were treated as part of the
identification procedure has given rise to concern owing to the
removal of hands in 25 cases.
6.
What is the difference between a Formal Investigation and a
non-statutory inquiry?
A
Formal Investigation (FI) is a type of statutory inquiry under the
Merchant Shipping Act and is held in a public forum.
As with other public inquiries, it is independent of any
Government Department but is called by the Government and responds
to a remit set by Government. A Wreck Commissioner (normally a judge
sitting with expert assessors) is appointed to lead a Formal
Investigation into marine accidents and its main task is to
ascertain the cause of the accident. Formal Investigations can make
recommendations for the future and can highlight lessons to be
learned. A main distinguishing feature of a Formal Investigation as
a form of public inquiry is that it has legal powers, can discipline
certified officers and can order witnesses to the inquiry.
A
non-statutory inquiry is also an investigation, part of which may
consist of public hearings, but has no legal powers to supply
evidence or to compel witnesses to attend, though it is not
envisaged that these powers will be needed for this particular
inquiry. A Chairman leads a non-statutory inquiry, this is usually a
senior member of the judiciary. Its task is to put the facts of a
case in to the public domain and make recommendations for the
future.
Both
types of Inquiry lead to a reasoned Report by the Wreck
Commissioner/Chairman based on the evidence put before the
Inquiries.
7.
Hasn’t there already been an investigation into this accident?
The
MAIB (Marine Accident Investigation Branch) conducted an
investigation into the accident in August 1989, this was not a
public inquiry. The Thames Safety Inquiry Report, published in
January 2000 and written by Lord Justice Clarke, recommended a
Formal Investigation in to the accident. The reasons behind his
recommendation are set out in Part 2 of the Thames Safety
Inquiry’s final Report.
8. Do the
Inquiries have the power to criticise anyone?
It is not
the primary purpose of either inquiry to find fault. Both inquiries
can lay out the evidence in public and ascertain the facts based on
evidence put before them. Both inquiries will also focus on the
lessons to be learned and recommendations for the future.
As
explained above however, the FI does have the power to discipline.
The FI has had to look into responsibility of the individual and
indeed any failure or failures on the part of individuals.
Both
inquiries can make criticisms of individuals and will notify
individuals of any ‘potential criticism’ in order to give them a
fair opportunity to respond.
9. How
will the Report be used?
It is for
the Government and persons outside the inquiry to decide how to make
use of the findings contained within both Reports.
10. When
will the findings of the formal investigation be published?
Lord
Justice Clarke expects to hand his Formal Investigation Report to
The Secretary of State for Transport early next year. The
non-statutory inquiry (NSI) Report will be handed over shortly
after. The Government is responsible for handling the publishing of
both Reports.
11. Who is
leading the inquiries?
Lord
Justice Clarke was appointed by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott
on 20 September 1999 to conduct the Thames Safety Inquiry. Mr.
Prescott announced the appointment, made by Lord Chancellor Lord
Irvine of Laird, of Lord Justice Clarke as Wreck Commissioner to
conduct the Formal Investigation (FI) and as Chairman to conduct the
Non-Statutory Inquiry (NSI) on 14 February 2000.
Lord
Justice Clarke has been a Lord Justice of Appeal since 1998.
He became a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division
in 1993 and was the Admiralty Judge until 1998.
He practiced at the Admiralty and Commercial Bar,
specialising in shipping cases, including collisions.
12. What
is the role of the assessors and where do they come from?
The
Assessors role is to provide impartial technical advice to the
Inquiry. The assessors for the Formal Investigation were
Commodore David Squire and Captain Trevor Bailey (see Formal
Investigation web site www.marchioness-bowbelle.org.uk
under Who’s Who). Both have built their careers up in a wide
range of demanding appointments at sea and ashore and
have significant expertise in nautical and marine matters, including
marine safety and emergency planning.
The
Assessors will not be needed for the non-statutory inquiry into the
idenification of victims following major transport accidents.
13. Who is
Counsel to the Inquiry?
Nigel
Teare QC, David Goldstone and Samantha Leek act as counsel to the
inquiry. Their role is of strict impartiality in providing legal
advice to Lord Justice Clarke.
14. Who
are the witnesses?
A list of
witnesses can be found on the submissions and timetables pages of
the web site. For the Formal Investigation, they included
representatives from Government, authorities and emergency services,
representatives of the vessels involved, crew, eye-witnesses and
some expert witnesses. Survivors of the collision and relatives of
the victims are also giving evidence.
For the
Non-Statutory Inquiry, witnesses for the hearings will include those
who were involved in the identification of fatalities procedure
following the Marchioness tragedy.
15. Why
are they being legally represented?
Public inquiry
experience has shown that lawyers are useful in assisting at
Inquiries. Their experience in handling vast amounts of documents
and presenting the relevant material is valuable both to the Inquiry
and to the witnesses themselves.
16. How
can I keep in touch with the inquiries?
The
website for the non-statutory inquiry will carry up-to-date
information on hearings and submissions to the inquiry.
You can
access the formal investigation web site on www.marchioness-bowbelle.org.uk.
Issued on
15 November 2000.
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