Allision of the rigid inflatable boat Peaky Blinder with a navigation beacon with the loss of 2 lives

Report Overview

Accident Investigation Report 15/2026

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MAIB investigation report 15-2026: Peaky BlinderDownload

Summary

In the evening of 14 August 2025, the rigid inflatable boat (RIB) Peaky Blinder allided with navigation beacon 81 in Portsmouth Harbour. The owner, who was driving the boat, and the two passengers on board were ejected into the water. One passenger was recovered unconscious from the water and later declared deceased, the owner’s body was recovered five days later. The remaining passenger survived with minor injuries.

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Peaky Blinder

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MAIB investigation report 15-2026: Peaky Blinder

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MAIB investigation report 15-2026: Peaky Blinder

ACCIDENT REPORT ACCIDENT REPORT Report on the investigation of the allision of the rigid inflatable boat Peaky Blinder with a navigation beacon in Portsmouth Harbour, England resulting in two fatalities on 14 August 2025 VERY SERIOUS MARINE CASUALTY REPORT NO 15/2026 JULY 2026 Extract from The United Kingdom Merchant Shipping (Accident Reporting and Investigation) Regulations 2026 – Regulation 5: The sole objective of a safety investigation into an accident under these Regulations is the prevention of future accidents through the ascertainment of its causes and circumstances. It is not the purpose of such an investigation to determine liability nor, except so far as is necessary to achieve its objective, to apportion blame. NOTE This report is not written with litigation in mind and, pursuant to Regulation 19(1) of The Merchant Shipping (Accident Reporting and Investigation) Regulations 2026, shall be inadmissible in any judicial proceedings concerning liability unless the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents or a court of law determine otherwise. © Crown copyright, 2026 You may re-use this document/publication (not including departmental or agency logos) free of charge in any format or medium. You must re-use it accurately and not in a misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as Crown copyright and you must give the title of the source publication. Where we have identified any third party copyright material you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. All MAIB publications can be found on our website: www.gov.uk/maib For all enquiries: Marine Accident Investigation Branch First Floor, Spring Place 105 Commercial Road Southampton SO15 1GH United Kingdom Email: iso@maib.gov.uk Telephone: +44 (0)23 8039 5500 Press enquiries during office hours: +44 (0)19 3244 0015 Press enquiries out of hours: +44 (0)30 0777 7878 CONTENTS GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS SYNOPSIS 1 SECTION 1 – FACTUAL INFORMATION 2 1.1 Particulars of Peaky Blinder and accident 2 1.2 Background 3 1.3 Narrative 3 1.4 Environmental conditions 7 1.4.1 General 7 1.4.2 Sun position 7 1.5 Portsmouth Harbour 8 1.5.1 General 8 1.5.2 Navigation beacon 81 8 1.6 Peaky Blinder8 1.6.1 General 8 1.6.2 Accident damage 9 1.6.3 Owner 11 1.6.4 Passengers 11 1.6.5 Injuries 11 1.6.6 Recreational use of Peaky Blinder in the Solent area 12 1.7 Regulation and guidance 13 1.7.1 Safe speed 13 1.7.2 Alcohol consumption 16 1.8 Reference information 21 1.8.1 Effects of alcohol on the human body 21 1.8.2 Alcohol consumption regulation in the international pleasure boat sector22 1.8.3 Strategies to control alcohol consumption in the air and road transport sectors 23 1.8.4 Use of personal flotation devices in the pleasure boat sector 26 1.9 Previous accidents 26 1.9.1 Carrie Kate and Kets – collision, with loss of 1 life 26 1.9.2 Sea Snake – grounding, with loss of 3 lives 27 1.9.3 Sooty – grounding, with loss of 1 life 27 1.9.4 Morfil and Sun Clipper – collision 27 1.9.5 Rib Fargo – allision, with loss of 1 life 28 SECTION 2 – ANALYSIS 29 2.1 Aim 29 2.2 Overview 29 2.3 The accident 29 2.3.1 Impact with navigation beacon 81 29 2.3.2 Passage up Portsmouth Harbour 30 2.3.3 Effects of alcohol 30 2.3.4 Survivability 31 2.4 The regulation of alcohol in the pleasure boat sector 32 2.5 Enforcement of speed limits in Portsmouth Harbour 33 SECTION 3 – CONCLUSIONS 34 3.1 Safety issues directly contributing to the accident that have been addressed or resulted in recommendations 34 3.2 Safety issues not directly contributing to the accident that have been addressed or resulted in recommendations 34 3.3 Other safety issues not directly contributing to the accident 34 SECTION 4 – ACTION TAKEN 35 4.1 MAIB actions 35 SECTION 5 – RECOMMENDATIONS 36 FIGURES Figure 1: Portsmouth Harbour and the Isle of Wight Figure 2: Speed profile of Peaky Blinder in Portsmouth Harbour on 14 August 2025 Figure 3: Departure of Peaky Blinder from the marked channel Figure 4: Navigation beacon 81 with inset detail of surface damage Figure 5: Post-allision damage to Peaky Blinder Figure 6: Relative fatality risk while boating by BAC (mg/dL), Maryland and North Carolina, USA* Figure 7: Graph showing the decline in injuries and fatalities due to boating accidents in the USA between 2009 and 2024 where alcohol was a contributory factor Figure 8: Graph showing the annual decline in fatalities on UK roads between 1979 and 2023 where alcohol was a contributory factor TABLES Table 1: Locations visited by Peaky Blinder between 18 August 2024 and 14 August 2025 Table 2: NHS guidance on the effects of alcohol on human behaviour Table 3: International BAC limits for recreational boat users ANNEXES Annex A: Sea Tow Foundation Sober Skipper flyer Annex B: RNLI Boating Checklists Annex C: MAIB safety flyer to the recreational craft industry GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS μg/dL - micrograms per decilitre (μg/100ml) BAC - blood alcohol content BPA - British Ports Association DfT - Department for Transport GAFIRS - Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service GRP - glass-reinforced plastic GTGP - Guide to good practice on port and marine facilities HMCG - His Majesty’s Coastguard HMNB - His Majesty’s Naval Base IAS - Institute of Alcohol Studies IRPCS - International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972, as amended (also referred to as the COLREGs) KHM - King’s Harbour Master kts - knots LNTM - Local Notice to Mariners MCA - Maritime and Coastguard Agency MDP - Ministry of Defence Police mg/dL - milligrams per decilitre (mg/100ml) MGN - Marine Guidance Note MOU - memorandum of understanding NASBLA - National Association of State Boating Law Administrators NCI - National Coastwatch Institution NHS - National Health Service NICE - National Institute for Health and Care Excellence PFD - personal flotation device PMSC - Ports & Marine Facilities Safety Code RaTSA - Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003 RIB - rigid inflatable boat RNLI - Royal National Lifeboat Institution RYA - Royal Yachting Association UKHMA - UK Harbour Masters’ Association UTC - universal time coordinated TIMES: all times used in this report are UTC +1 unless otherwise stated. Peaky Blinder 1 SYNOPSIS On 14 August 2025, the rigid inflatable boat Peaky Blinder allided with a navigation beacon in Portsmouth Harbour, England, resulting in two fatalities and one minor injury. The accident occurred when Peaky Blinder was returning from a social excursion around various locations in the Solent and Isle of Wight area. The owner was in control of the boat and was accompanied by two friends. Alcohol consumption featured centrally throughout the day. After departing from their final stop at Haslar Marina, Peaky Blinder transited north through Portsmouth Harbour. Once clear of the naval base, the owner accelerated the rigid inflatable boat to speeds reaching a maximum of 49.7 knots, well above the 10 knots speed limit in the harbour. Approaching the channel leading to Port Solent, Peaky Blinder deviated to the starboard side of the channel. During the owner’s attempts to regain the channel, Peaky Blinder struck the navigation beacon at a speed of 33.5 knots. All three occupants were ejected overboard. One passenger was recovered unconscious from the water and later declared deceased; the owner’s body was recovered 5 days later. The remaining passenger survived with minor injuries. A later toxicology report indicated a significant alcohol concentration in the owner’s blood. The report concluded that the level of alcohol had the potential to substantially impair his judgement, reaction time, and decision‑making. The MAIB investigation found that the high-speed passage drastically reduced the time available to detect naviga

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