THEMARITIME Coastguard Agency has ordered Stena Line to reduce the speed of its ship Stena Discovery as it approaches Harwich.
The ferry operator has also been told to adjust the ship’s route and monitor its wash on the approach to the port.
The new requirements have been imposed as the result of an ongoing Marine Accident Investigation Branch inquiry into the death of a fisherman who was allegedly knocked off a boat by a wave caused by Stena Discovery (Travel Weekly July 19).
MAIB has just announced its preliminary findings. An official statement said: “The sailor, who was not wearing a life jacket, was washed overboard when his boat, which was in very shallow water, was hit by a wave in relatively calm seas.
“MAIB’s preliminary conclusion is that the wave was probably caused by the passing Stena Discovery as it approached Harwich on a routine passage from the Hook of Holland. It was travelling at about 40 knots.”
Stena said that it had already implemented the MCA’s recommendations.