A vessel which crashed and led to the rescue of 14 people off the Needles on the Isle of Wight was being driven by its owner who was 'insufficiently qualified', the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has ruled.

A qualified skipper was at the helm of the Channel Queen but they disembarked the vessel for a kayak before it grounded, handing controls to owner and renowned swimmer, Chloe McGardel.

The boat crashed after hitting the submerged wreckage of another ship - Varvassi - on July 20, 2023.

In findings released today, the MAIB warned "the outcome could have been much more serious" and had protocols been followed correctly, the accident "could have been avoided".

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The investigation found there was no charted navigational passage plan in place and effective use was not being made of the available navigation equipment to execute a safe passage.

As previously reported by the County Press, the boat was escorting a relay swim event around the Island, when it hit the Varvassi.

The Channel Queen was then deliberately beached in nearby Scratchell’s Bay.

The passengers and crew abandoned ship to its rigid inflatable boat and a life raft and were then transferred to an RNLI lifeboat.

(Image: RNLI/Needles Coastwatch)

Some passengers suffered minor injuries, which were tended to locally, the report said, and Channel Queen was subsequently declared a total loss.

As well as owning Channel Queen, Chloe McGardel is a world record holding swimmer and was the sole proprietor of the company that managed the swim event, Swimon.

An MAIB investigation concluded the skipper and Ms McGardel prioritised the swim event over the safe navigation of the vessel.

The skipper disembarking to the kayak had become a normalised procedure during previous swim support events, the report said.

Both Ms McGardel and the skipper had overlooked the requirement for the vessel to always remain under the command of an appropriately qualified crew member when underway, according to the MAIB.

Chief inspector of marine accidents, Andrew Moll, said: "Once the hull of Channel Queen was holed it was fortunate that the boat was beached before it could sink, which gave the occupants time to disembark safely.

"In only slightly different circumstances the outcome could have been much more serious. The four stages of passage planning: appraisal, planning, execution and monitoring, are well tried and tested.

"Had they been followed during this event, particularly as Channel Queen was operating very close inshore, the accident could have been avoided.”

The report recommends that any vessel the company operates or engages from a third party to support its events is crewed by sufficient numbers of personnel, who are suitably qualified.

Going forward, it has also been recommended that the company reviews the method of navigation passage planning used on board any vessel it operates.