THE Belgian captain of a high-speed ferry operated by Hoverspeed on the Dover-Ostend service was today fined £3,000 following a collision with a freight ferry more than a year ago.

Magistrates at Dover convicted Jean Ramakers of failing to keep a proper lookout and failing to conduct his vessel, Diamant, appropriately in fog.

He was fined £1,500 for each offence and also ordered to pay £1,500 costs to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

The court heard that the Diamant was approaching Dover at about 10am on January 6, 2002, with 148 people on board. At the time the visibility was reduced by dense fog.

With 3.5 miles to go, and at a speed of about 30 knots, the Diamant collided with the outbound freight ferry Northern Merchant which had 103 people on board.

An investigation by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency determined that the captain had failed to use his radar properly to determine the movements of the

Northern Merchant and on the basis of this mistake had effectively turned into the other ship instead of away from it.

District Judge Riddle said: "This incident occurred in a busy seaway and near a port, where the failure to keep a proper lookout and to conduct a vessel properly can potentially have serious consequences. This can range from a near miss to a catastrophic incident."

Captain John Garner, the MCA's deputy director of operations and chairman of the UK High Speed Craft Advisory Group, said after the case: "The consequences of Captain Ramakers’ errors should send a clear reminder to the operators, masters and crews of high speed ferries to remain constantly vigilant and to maintain the highest professional standards."