TROPIC BREEZE

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Crew of Utopia IV awarded $2.9M in damages following collision with Tropic Breeze

A Florida jury has awarded a cumulative $2,888,300 in damages to three former crew members of the 'Utopia IV' (IMO: 9851050), as a result of a lawsuit against the yacht and Utopia Yachting LLC. The plaintiffs, Eric Ward, Samuel Parrott and Fred Wennberg, filed suit under the Jones Act for negligence, unseaworthiness and failure to provide prompt and adequate maintenance, cure and wages following the collision with the tanker 'Tropic Breeze' on the night of Dec 23, 2021, approximately 15 miles north-northwest of New Providence Island. According to court documents, each plaintiff claims to have been injured in the collision, for which the defendants have "admitted liability". The complaint, which was initially filed on Nov 22, 2022, officially went to trial on March 24, 2025. with the jury set to decide whether each of the three Plaintiffs were injured in the collision, and, if so, the extent of their injuries and to then fairly compensate them for their injuries based on the testimony and evidence presented. An accident report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) previously found that the collision was caused by the yacht crew not maintaining a lookout. At the time of the accident, the 'Utopia IV' was carrying seven charter guests and 12 crew members. She was en route to Bimini Island when she hit the stern of the tanker at 10.00pm. The force of the collision pierced the hull, and the tanker sank at a depth of 2,000 metres. The 'Utopia IV' was sailing at 20 knots when she struck the tanker. The captain was not in the wheelhouse, having left 12 minutes prior to check on the guests.The bosun, who was left in the wheelhouse, was not certified as mate or captain and therefore was not allowed by regulations to perform watchstanding duties by himself. The bosun was multitasking and logging navigation data, and therefore was distracted from performing effective lookout duties. The tanker was sailing at a speed of five knots, carrying a cargo of marine gas oil and liquid petroleum gas. The captain of the 'Tropic Breeze' had also left the wheelhouse to use the restroom prior to the incident. None of the watchstanders on both ships reported seeing the other vessel on radar, which was set to a three-mile radius, while visibility was good, in spite of bow spray reported to have been collecting on the windshield of the 'Utopia IV'. Given the relative speed of both vessels, it was likely that none of the watchstanders had looked at the radar in the 12 minutes before the collision or completed a visual assessment of the surroundings. CCTV in the galley of the 'Utopia IV' captured the moment of the collision. Equipment and several of the yacht's crew were thrown to the deck or into bulkheads; three crew reportedly sustained minor injuries. Utopia IV’s captain was in the main dining area and was thrown into the forward bulkhead and door frame. The chief engineer of the 'Tropic Breeze' investigated the damage and discovered that the engine room was flooding rapidly. The captain made a VHF distress call and decided to abandon the vessel; a life-raft was launched. Meanwhile, the 'Utopia IV’s chief engineer restarted the yacht’s engines, which had shut down after the collision, and a distress call was made from the wheelhouse. The yacht attempted to rescue the crew from the tanker, but sea swells prevented them from boarding. The tanker crew were eventually rescued by the passing m/y 'Amara', which had heard the distress calls and diverted its course to assist. The 'Utopia IV’s chief stewardess told investigators she saw the 'Tropic Breeze’s navigation lights illuminated following the collision. According to the 'Utopia IV’s crew, Utopia IV’s lights were all on. 156,500 gallons of marine gas oil was lost with the tanker. The accident resulted in nearly $7.9 million in damages. As the 'Utopia IV' had approached the 'Tropic Breeze' from directly astern, the yacht as the overtaking vessel was required by 72 COLREGS to give way to the tanker. However, as the watchstanders on both vessels had failed to maintain a proper lookout, they were unable to identify the risk of collision and respond suitably. Although the Utopia IV bore responsibility as the overtaking vessel to manoeuvre away from the tank vessel, once the yacht’s intentions were unclear and a close-quarters situation had developed, the tank er should have taken action. The NTSB investigators concluded that the probable cause of the collision was the 'Utopia IV’s wheelhouse crew not maintaining a proper lookout and therefore not identifying the vessel they were overtaking, but with contribution from the 'Tropic Breeze’s bridge team also not maintaining a proper lookout, which is required by the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 and is essential in determining the risk of collision. Full report: https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/MIR2229.pdf

Report: No proper lookout ahead of collision

The NTSB has published its report on the collision between the yacht 'Utopia IV' and the 'Tropic Breeze' on Dec 23, 2021, in the Northeast Providence Channel, 20 miles northwest of Nassau, Bahamas. At 6 p.m. the 'Tropic Breeze' departed Clifton Pier on New Providence Island at a speed of five knots en route to Great Stirrup Cay—a voyage north-northwest that was estimated to take 12 hours. At 8.30 p.m. the 'Utopia IV' weighed anchor offshore of Albany, headed to Bimini Island at a speed of about 20 knots. The planned route took the vessel around the west side of New Providence Island and north of the Berry Islands. The yacht carried seven passengers in addition to 12 crew members. Just before 10 p.m., the bosun on the 'Utopia IV' turned his attention to recording the hourly log entries and navigation fix, leaving his back turned to the forward windows. About the same time, the master of the 'Tropic Breeze' started toward his cabin, immediately aft of the bridge, to use the restroom. At 22.00.48 p.m. the bow of the yacht struck the transom of the 'Tropic Breeze' from directly astern, slightly to port of the tank vessel’s centerline. Several of the yacht’s crew were thrown to the deck or into bulkheads as the 'Utopia IV' struck the other vessel at a relative speed of about 15 knots; three crewmembers sustained minor injuries. The chief engineer investigated the tanker’s damage. He found the engine room was flooding rapidly. He went to the bridge and reported the flooding to the master; he stated that he did not see the source of flooding, but the engine had stopped once it was submerged. 15 minutes after the collision, the captain made a VHF distress call and decided to abandon the vessel. The crew launched the rescue boat and a liferaft. One or two of them boarded the rescue boat, and the remainder of the crew boarded the liferaft. The 'Utopia IV'’s chief engineer restarted the yacht’s engines, which had shut down after the collision. The chief mate, who had come to the wheelhouse, made a distress call by VHF radio. The yacht was maneuvered to recover the 'Tropic Breeze'’s crew, and the stern swim platform was lowered to allow them to board; however, sea swells and the height of the platform prevented them from boarding. The yacht 'Amara' heard three VHF distress calls from the 'Utopia'. She arrived on scene and dispatched a tender with a crew of three, whch then recovered all of the tanker’s crew from the liferaft and rescue boat. The crew members on the tender and the Amara’s captain concurred it was not safe to get 'Tropic Breeze'’s crew aboard either the 'Amara' or the 'Utopia IV' due to the sea state, so they were taken ashore to Lyford Cay Marina in Nassau via the tender, arriving on Dec 24 at 02 40 a.m. The 'Tropic Breeze' continued to flood and sank about 25 minutes after the collision. Both ships equipped with radar—regulations require systematic observations of radar targets to determine risk of collision—set to a 3-mile scale. With the Utopia IV approaching the Tropic Breeze at a relative speed of 15 knots, a target would close 3 miles in just 12 minutes. However, none of the watchstanders on the 'Utopia IV' (captain and bosun) or 'Tropic Breeze' (master and AB) reported seeing the other vessel on radar; therefore, it was likely none of them had looked at the radar in the 12 minutes before the collision. Additionally, there was no evidence that they used radar for long-range scanning. Therefore, neither crew used their vessel’s radar effectively. The National Transportation Safety Board determinesd that the probable cause of the collision between the 'Utopia IV' and the tanker was the yacht’s wheelhouse crew not maintaining a proper lookout and therefore not identifying the tanker they were overtaking. Contributing was the 'Tropic Breeze'’s bridge team also not maintaining a proper lookout. Report with photos: https://safety4sea.com/ntsb-investigation-yachts-improper-lookout-leads-to-collision-with-tanker/

investigation into sinking launched

The Office of the Attorney General has been consulted for legal guidance after the 'Tropical Breeze' sank off the coast of New Providence. The Port Department has begun a formal investigation into the incident, and the Department of Environmental Health was also conducting a review of the environmental impact. T A statement issued by Maritime Management LLC, which managed the ' Tropic Breeze', stated that the vessel was struck at 10.03 p.m. on Christmas Eve by the 'Utopia IV' approximately 15 miles NNW of New Providence. The tanker was travelling on its proper watch en route to Great Stirrup Cay when it was rear-ended by the yacht. The catastrophic force of the collision pierced the stern of the tanker causing the tanker to sink to the ocean floor at an estimated depth of 2,000 feet, Two Guyanese nationals, identified as Chief Engineer Colin Ward and Joshua Campbell, were evacuated from the tanker and that all crew members were also rescued.