A female tourist was left paralysed after sitting in a “kamikaze” seat on an inflatable boat when it was slammed into an oncoming wave.
The RIB Lundy Explorer left Ilfracombe harbour in North Devon for a sea safari trip in June 2023.
A Marine Accident Investigation Board inquiry said it encountered a high wave as it left the harbour, which caused it to slam into another oncoming wave.
The 28-year-old injured passenger was sitting in a jockey seat in the front of the boat where the highest shock loads were experienced, according to the report.
The shock of the wave caused her to be dislodged from her seat, resulting in a fracture of her spinal column and permanent paralysis, it added.
Local weather conditions had deteriorated quickly resulting in choppy seas and increased wave heights that were not expected, the MAIB report found.
It also noted that the position of the jockey seats was unsuitable for single occupancy as they exposed passengers to high shock load.
The pre-departure safety briefing did not include the use of the seats and the passengers were unaware of the risks.
Several operators, manufacturers and skippers were consulted during the MAIB investigation, and all acknowledged that the front seats of a RIB could present comfort issues, often referring to them as “kamikaze” or “suicide” seats.
The Lundy Explorer was hit by three high waves, bringing it to a stop causing “all the passengers to be thrown forward” and one passenger “struck their face heavily on the handhold in front of them,” the report said.
After the wave hit, two passengers raised their arms to notify the skipper that there was a problem and that one passenger had fallen off.
The passenger had become “wedged” in a “twisted position with her right leg over the seat” and said that she could not feel her legs.
Following the accident the boat was turned around and the skipper tried to call the company owner by mobile phone but received no reply.
However, the coastguard was also not contacted via radio which may have “delayed the emergency response and prevented medical advice on handling a suspected spinal injury,” the report noted.
The injured passenger was carried ashore while her sister called an ambulance at 12.27pm.
Someone at the scene alerted a member of the local Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), who dispatched a casualty care team.
The woman was then taken to the hospital in Plymouth by air.
The hospital’s consultant neurosurgeon advised that the injury was caused at the moment of impact and she had no pre-existing conditions that would have contributed to the injury.
The Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents, Andrew Moll, said: “This dreadful accident highlights that even when operating at slow speeds in harbour areas significant injuries can still occur on RIB rides when inappropriate seating arrangements are used.
“Despite being in good health and wearing appropriate safety equipment, she was dislodged from her seat and sustained a spinal injury that has resulted in permanent paralysis.”
He recommended Ilfracombe Sea Safari Ltd to implement a safety management system and urged other operators to also take action.
The MAIB report said that since 2001 it has been notified of 54 accidents during RIB rides that have resulted in lower back injuries, 17 of which caused spinal fractures.
