A COLLISION between a cargo ship and a group of yachts at Poole Quay has been described as a near catastrophe.

And a tragedy was only avoided by a matter of a few feet according to an experienced lifeboat man who witnessed the incident, which is now the subject of two investigations.

It was as the German container ship Pommeren, with a cargo of 2,500 tonnes of reinforcing steel, was moving from one berth to another on the far side of the quay that the collision occurred.

The outer-most yacht in a group berthed four abreast on the quay, near the Oyster Quay bar and restaurant, took the brunt of the impact.

A number of people onboard the yachts scrambled ashore as the vessels were pulled along by the larger ship and violently rocked in the maelstrom of waves created by the collision.

At least one of the yachts was visiting from Hamburg in Germany.

Among the first to spot something amiss was RNLI Poole lifeboat crewman Simon Mumford.

He was working at the Jolly Sailor pub on the quay when he looked out a window and saw the container ship performing its manoeuvre at 8pm on Tuesday (August 31).

"I saw the ship making its turn and thought it was not right and I went out to have a closer look and that's when the incident occurred," said Simon.

"I don't know if it was pilot error or a mechanical failure. It was trying to swing around with a strong tide and there were other vessels moving about.

"I could see that there were people in the yachts. Two of the yachts broke free," he added.

"If the container ship had been two metres nearer the quay it would have caused catastrophic damage because people were sitting in their boats eating dinner. I saw the people jump off their boat very quickly. It was all a very big mess."

The inshore lifeboat, police launch and coastguard responded to the incident.

RNLI helmsman Paul Singleton said: "There was quite some damage to the yachts, twisted anchors, damaged cleats where ropes were stretched, crushed boarding ladders and squashed rails. It was really lucky that no-one was hurt."

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Poole Harbour Commission are both investigating the incident.

First published: September 2