Coast Guard Announces Investigation into the Sinking of HMS Bounty

The Coast Guard, on Thursday, announced that they will conduct an investigation into the sinking of the HMS Bounty.

On November 1st, Rear Admiral Steven Ratti, the Coast Guard’s Fifth District Commander ordered a district formal investigation to determine the cause of the sinking of the three-masted tall ship. The ship sunk 90 miles southeast of Hatteras, North Carolina on Monday.

While fourteen of the crewmembers were successfully retrieved from the stormy seas off of the east coast of the United States, two unfortunately were not. The body of 42-year-old Claudene Christian was pulled from the ocean after missing for 10 hours. She was non-reponsive when found and declared deceased upon arrival at the Albemarle hospital in Elizabeth City. Christian was the great-great-great-great-great grandaughter of Fletcher Christian, the man who took over the original HMS Bounty when the mutiny occured against Captain Bligh.

The other person lost at sea and presumed dead is 63-year-old Robin Walbridge, the captain of the ill-fated vessel that was underway to St. Petersberg when she lost power and foundered in the stormy waters stirred up by Hurricane Sandy.

The Coast Guard’s district formal investigation consists of a Coast Guard investigating officer who will receive evidence and testimony using formal rules and procedures and is convened when the information to be derived has considerable regional significance, or may indicate vessel class problems or areas of technical importance.

The Coast Guard will probe all aspects of the accident and determine as closely as possible:

The cause of the accident
Whether there is evidence that any failure of material or equipment was involved or contributed to the casualty
Whether there is evidence that any act of misconduct, inattention to duty, negligence, or willful violation of the law on the part of any licensed or certificated person contributed to the casualty
Whether there is evidence that any Coast Guard or other government agency personnel caused or contributed to the casualty
Whether the accident should be further investigated by a Marine Board of Investigation

The Chief of the Coast Guard’s Fifth District Marine Inspections and Investigations Branch, Commander Kevin M. Carroll will conduct the investigation and will be assisted by investigating officers from the Coast Guard Sector North Carolina in Wilmington, North carolina.

The investigation is not intended to fix any civil or criminal responsibility, but rather, it purpose is to take appropriate measures for promoting the safety of life and property.

This district formal investigation is estimated to take months to complete.