Passenger ferry and tanker in near-miss

A ROYTON man has described the moment a passenger ferry narrowly avoided crashing into a tanker on the River Mersey.

Retired teacher Stephen Whitehead captured the dramatic scene on camera as the vessels came too close for comfort. The 63-year-old had been enjoying a sightseeing trip to see the HMS Illustrious and a flyover by more than 40 aircraft as the Royal Navy celebrated 100 years of aviation.

He was onboard the Royal Daffodil ferry crossing from Birkenhead on Friday when the incident happened. He said: “There was, unusually, a commentary on the history of the ship, rather than the usual safety announcements, and she ground to a halt and it became obvious looking at the crew’s faces that something was happening.

“I saw there was a much bigger than us red petrol tanker very close to us. It was far too close for comfort. Time slows down in that sort of situation and it went very quiet.

“We seemed to run alongside each other until the ferry turned completely away. There was one blast of a ship’s horn.”

Mr Whitehead felt the tanker was going too fast while the ferry appeared to be attempting to cross in front of it without sufficient space or power. He said both vessels held their course until the last moment, almost like a game of chicken, when they both turned apart.

Merseytravel, which operates Mersey Ferries, claimed the vessels came within 60 metres of each other. But Mr Whitehead said: “It was considerably closer, more like 20 to 30 metres. .”

A Merseytravel spokesman said both vessels had highly trained pilots on board and took the appropriate action.

He added: “We have launched an investigation because the vessels got closer than they would normally be.”

The last major collision on the Mersey happened in February, 2007, when a passenger ferry collided with a cargo ship.