An engineer who drowned when a tugboat capsized after crashing into a crane in the River Thames was not wearing his life jacket properly, a court heard.

The captain Roy Goatham, 64, the Port of London Authority and the owners of the barge and tugboat are charged with health and safety of failures over the death of 39-year-old Darren Lacey, of Gravesend, Kent, on August 12, 2011.

The tugboat river pilots had not towed a barge that size since moving the 110-tonne Concorde plane to a museum in Edinburgh in 2004, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.

The tugboat, the Chiefton, capsized and Mr Lacey's body was recovered without a lifejacket, the court heard.

Prosecutor Mark Watson, QC, told Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London: “It doesn’t appear Mr Lacey was wearing his life jacket in the proper way.

"He wasn’t wearing a crotch strap to secure it in position. This may explain why when Mr Lacey was subsequently found, it was found he wasn’t wearing a life jacket.”

It was just one of a catalogue of failings that led to his death, it was alleged.

Risk assessments for the operation had “numerous problems and failures and inaccuracies” with “no consideration ” of the speed, length of separation between tugboat and barge or the “risk of collision”, it was alleged.

Mr Watson QC said: “On Friday 12 August 2011, a tugboat, known as the Chiefton , capsized and sank in the Thames near Greenwich.

“Tragically, one of the crew members of the Chiefton, Darren Lacey, died in the incident when he fell into the river and drowned. He was 39 years’ old at the time of his death.

“In very brief terms, at the time of the incident which led to Mr Lacey’s death he was on board the Chiefton, which was towing a large barge.

"It was close to the front of that barge. The barge was also being pushed by another larger tug, the Steven B, at the rear of the barge.

“Although there were two tugs involved, the tow was under the control of river pilots.

“In keeping with the rather unusual nature of this tow, you can just see that those pilots, together with others involved in the tow, in Hi-Viz clothing stationed on top of the of counterbalance of the crane at the front of the barge.

“As you might suspect, this was not a routine arrangement for a tow on the River Thames.

"Shortly after this photograph was taken, as the tow passed through the ‘U bend’ in the Thames at Greenwich, the tow got out of position and drifted towards some buoys on the south side of the river.

"In a last gasp attempt to avoid the buoys, the Chiefton turned to port, whilst it appears that the Steven B turned to starboard.
“The immediate consequence of this was that Chiefton, on its short towing ropes, was suddenly side on to front of the advancing barge, rather like a jack-knifed lorry.

"The Chiefton swiftly rolled onto its side and was pushed right over by the barge. The crew of the Chiefton were thrown into the water as it was overcome and immediately sank, with the loss of Mr Lacey’s life.

“This prosecution arises from a lengthy investigation into that incident.

“When the Chiefton sank on 12 August 2011 it was towing a barge known as the Skyline 19.

"The four Defendants in this case; Ravestein BV, the Port of London Authority, Palmers Marine Services Ltd; and Mr Roy Goatham were each involved in that operation.

“The prosecution case against the first two Defendants, Ravestein and the Port of London Authority, is that they are responsible for significant failures in the proper planning and management of that towing operation.

“Ravestein BV, a Dutch company, was the owner of the Skyline 19 barge and it had been using the barge to carry out construction work on the River Thames.

“The Port of London Authority are the authority responsible for the control of navigation on the River Thames from London down-river to the east.

“Both of these organisations had responsibility for the planning and management of the tow operation on 12 August 2011.

“The prosecution allege that by failing to properly plan and manage the tow, both Ravestein and the PLA were in breach of their legal obligations with regard to safety of the workers involved in that operation.

"The crew of the Chiefton were thrown into the water as it was overcome and immediately sank, with the loss of Mr Lacey’s life..."

“The navigation of the tow required the co-ordination of instructions from the PLA pilots to two separate tugs.

“The Skyline was a large barge. It was approximately 60m long, 22.0m wide and had a draft of 3.5m. In everyday terms, it is about one quarter the size of a regular football pitch.

“And such a large vessel may have potentially differing handling capabilities depending upon a variety of factors, for example: the conditions in the Thames; how the vessel was ballasted; and the weight it was carrying, clearly, it would be loaded on upriver transit and unloaded before the outward leg.

“Although the pilots were very experienced in general terms, this was not an everyday operation for them.”

He said the river pilots for the PLA transported the 110-tonne Concorde to the Museum of Flight at East Fortune near Edinburgh in 2004 and added: “That was the last time it would appear that a barge of this size had been transported on this stretch of river.

“As far as a risk assessment is concerned, you can see a draft risk assessment - there’s nothing in this assessment about the risks arising from the tow itself, rather the focus and concerns here appear to be on the installation work itself.

“What you will find in either this or the final version is that there are numerous problems and failures and inaccuracies.”

“Although the pilots were very experienced in general terms, this was not an everyday operation for them...”

Goatham, of Gravesend, Kent, is charged with failing to discharge his duty with respect to the safety of operation of his ship, its machinery and equipment in such a manner as to be likely to cause the loss or destruction or of serious damage to his ship or machinery, navigational equipment or safety equipment or the death or serious injury to its crew members in that he failed to properly maintain and operate the Chiefton.

Palmer is charged with failing to ensure the Chieftan was operated safely and enduring the health and safety of its employees.

The PLA is charged with failing to ensure the health and safety of its employees and Ravestein is charged with failing to ensure its barge was operated safely.

They all deny all counts.

The trial continues.

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