People killed by props

wondering what precautions others are taking. Yeah it s pretty simple, dont start the engines when swimmers are in the water but in light of the death of a 25 year old guest in a 90ish charter boat in Miami this week end, it s clearly not that simple

While the investigation is just beginning, what could the captain have done to prevent the accident. He was sitting at a lower helm, with really no visibility aft. Whether the victim fell overboard or jumped in not realizing the engines had been started doesn't make a big difference as he could have not known. Only one mate onboard, no idea where he was... he could have been at the bow to raise anchor.

Over the past couple of weeks I ve witnessed two near misses. First was a crew on a 150ish footer I was a guest on who fell overboard at the stern while docking. Captain got it in neutral right away, no harm done. Second was another crew on a 100ish boat I was looking at as they were leaving the dock, she decided to go down to the swim platform to call clearances to the next boat on the Walky Talky. She almost slipped and caught herself in time. There was no reason for her to go on the swim platform as she could have seen just as good from the aft deck.

I often see crew on platforms while docking or undocking but I can't think of any case where line handling can't be done from the aft deck.

Personally I don't allow anyone on the platform while the engines are running. Crew or guests. Guests are told during the safety briefing that the platform is off limit while engines are running and the gates are closed. I have had a few cases where a guest will open a gate or step over but with overhead cameras monitored on the bridge I know right away. Engines go neutral until a crew get the guest back in

So, what else are others doing to prevent these type of accident?

To make things worst the Captain running the Miami vessel was only 20 years old with a 22 year old mate.

The various articles all mentioned it was a charter although obviously we all know how inaccurate the media can be.

I dont see the boat in the uscg database so not sure what the tonnage is. It may be slick enough to be under 100GT. For the 25, 50, 100 and 200GT licenses, they take the vessel you have experience on times 1.5 then rounded off to the next level... so if yo have run a 35GT boat, times 1.5 is 52GT you get a 100GT license. Run an 80GT boat and you get a 200GT license...

The reason i posted this thread was to discuss the steps others take to prevent accidents. As mentioned in the oast few weeks i ve seen one crew fall from a platform and nother catch herself at the last second while handling lines.

As to guests, we often have people partying on board and they require watching. Obvioulsy this captain didnt know someone was in the water but were all precautions taken? We close the stern gates before starting engines and guests are told not to go down if the gates are closed. But we know how memories is first to go after a few drinks...

I think the boat layout played a role in this accident.

We don't do day charters any more too busy with other things but it s certainly wilder than term charters.

That was the point of my post. Whether charter or private with owners / friends partying how do you ensure safety? Crew on the aft deck, cameras over the platform etc

What really worries me is crew. Today at Staniel I saw two more boats with crew on the platform while docking or leaving when they had no need being there