Classification
- Incident Type: Collision
- Severity: High
Vessel Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Vessel Name | Unknown fishing vessel / Vestas 11th Hour Racing |
| Vessel Names | Unknown fishing vessel / Vestas 11th Hour Racing |
| Vessel Type | Fishing Vessel |
| Fishing vessel flag | Unknown |
| Fishing vessel crew | 10 |
| Counterparty | Vestas 11th Hour Racing |
| Counterparty type | Volvo Ocean 65 racing yacht |
| Counterparty LOA | 22.14 m including bowsprit |
Incident Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Date | 2018-01-20 |
| Location | Off Hong Kong, China |
| Region | China |
| Fatalities | 1 |
| Missing | 0 |
| Vessels Lost | 1 |
| Direct Damage | Fishing vessel sank and was a total loss; Vestas sustained slight damage. |
| Outcome | The unidentified fishing vessel sank and one crew member died; all ten fishermen were recovered and Vestas sustained slight damage. |
Key facts
- The collision occurred at about 02:00 local onboard time off Hong Kong, China.
- GISIS identifies the other vessel only as a non-SOLAS fish-catching vessel with unknown flag administration and no recorded particulars.
- Ten fishermen entered the water after the fishing vessel sank, and emergency services recovered them east of Waglan Island.
- One seriously injured fishing-vessel crew member was evacuated by helicopter and confirmed dead at 06:30.
- Vestas sustained slight damage; the public casualty record does not establish a collision cause or non-fatal injury count.
Narrative
At about 02:00 local onboard time on 20 January 2018, the Volvo Ocean Race yacht Vestas 11th Hour Racing collided with an unidentified fishing vessel off Hong Kong, China. The IMO GISIS record describes the other vessel as a non-SOLAS fish-catching vessel and provides no name, flag administration, IMO number, gross tonnage, length or owner particulars. Ten crew members were recorded aboard the fishing vessel.
The fishing vessel sank after the collision and its ten fishermen entered the water. Vestas’s crew sent a distress signal, after which marine police and other emergency services launched a rescue operation. The fishermen were recovered east of Waglan Island. One seriously injured crew member was evacuated by helicopter and confirmed dead at 06:30. The remaining recovered fishermen were treated at Eastern Hospital. The casualty record does not state a separate non-fatal injury total.
Vestas sustained slight damage. GISIS records the fishing vessel as a total loss and records one loss of life. It does not attach an investigation report or analysis and therefore does not establish the collision’s cause or allocate fault.
A separate Volvo Ocean Race report was commissioned after the collision to examine night racing in areas of high vessel-traffic density. Its terms expressly stated that it was not required to investigate this collision. The report discusses lookouts, AIS, radar performance, traffic density and warning visibility as general safety topics for future racing, but those observations are not causal findings for this casualty.
Sequence of events
| Date/time | Event |
|---|---|
| 2018-01-20 02:00 local | Vestas 11th Hour Racing collided with the unidentified fishing vessel off Hong Kong. |
| 2018-01-20, time not stated | The fishing vessel sank and ten fishermen entered the water; Vestas sent a distress signal. |
| 2018-01-20, time not stated | Marine police and other emergency services recovered the fishermen east of Waglan Island. |
| 2018-01-20 06:30 local | A seriously injured fishing-vessel crew member was confirmed dead after evacuation by helicopter. |
Investigation
The IMO GISIS casualty record identifies the collision, the fishing vessel’s total loss and one fatality, but lists no attached investigation report or analysis. The Volvo Ocean Race report that followed was expressly outside the scope of investigating this collision. No official determination of cause or fault is available.
References
- IMO GISIS casualty record: Vestas 11th Hour Racing collision fatality
- Volvo Ocean Race independent report on racing at night in high-traffic areas