Three Injured After ‘Hard Contact’ with LNG Carrier Off Milford Haven

Updated: July 18, 2016 (Originally published July 13, 2016)

Three Milford Haven ship pilots have been injured after their pilot boat made ‘hard contact’ with an LNG carrier during a routine transfer, the port authority has confirmed.

The Port of Milford Haven says the incident occurred early Sunday morning when its pilot vessel St Davids made hard contract with the LNG carrier Lijmiliya.

The impact was so hard in fact that three of the five crew members on board the pilot boat suffered injuries, which the port authority described as minor in nature but serious enough to require hospitalization. The pilot boat also suffered significant damage, the port authority said, but no pollution resulted from the accident and normal shipping operations resumed shortly afterwards. 

All three of the injured crew members are recovering at home. 

The Port of Milford Haven is known for its notoriously treacherous deepwater access channel out in front of St Anns Head Lighthouse in West Wales, where pilot transfers occur even in conditions that would undoubtedly close other ports. Just check out the video below. 

We reached out to the Port of Milford Haven Authority to see if weather contributed to this incident but so far no word back. 

The Lijmiliya is a Q-Max LNG carrier on charter by Shell. 

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