Loss of propulsion in heavy weather experienced by the passenger vessel Spirit of Discovery, leading to over 100 injuries and one fatality

Report Overview

Accident Investigation Report 6/2026

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Spirit of Discovery (cr Lambroks Kakes, MarineTraffic)

Summary

Shortly after 1230 on 4 November 2023, the passenger vessel Spirit of Discovery lost propulsion in heavy weather while crossing the Bay of Biscay. Over 100 passengers were injured during this period. Eight of the seriously injured passengers were taken directly to hospital on arrival into port and one of these passengers later died from his injuries.

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Official Documents

Spirit of Discovery (cr Lambroks Kakes, MarineTraffic)

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MAIB investigation report 6-2026: Spirit of Discovery

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MAIB investigation report 6-2026: Spirit of Discovery

ACCIDENT REPORT ACCIDENT REPORT Report on the investigation into the loss of propulsion in heavy weather experienced by the passenger vessel Spirit of Discovery while crossing the Bay of Biscay, leading to over 100 injuries and one fatality on 4 November 2023 VERY SERIOUS MARINE CASUALTY REPORT NO 6/2026 MARCH 2026 The United Kingdom Merchant Shipping (Accident Reporting and Investigation) Regulations 2012 – Regulation 5: “The sole objective of the investigation of an accident under the Merchant Shipping (Accident Reporting and Investigation) Regulations 2012 shall be the prevention of future accidents through the ascertainment of its causes and circumstances. It shall not be the purpose of 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 14(14) of the Merchant Shipping (Accident Reporting and Investigation) Regulations 2012, shall be inadmissible in any judicial proceedings whose purpose, or one of whose purposes is to attribute or apportion liability or blame. © 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. Front cover image courtesy of Lambros Kakes (MarineTraffic). 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: maib@dft.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 Spirit of Discovery and accident 2 1.2 Background 3 1.3 Narrative 3 1.3.1 Heavy weather preparations 3 1.3.2 The accident 6 1.3.3 Resuming the passage to Portsmouth 9 1.4 Fatal passenger injury 10 1.5 Passenger injuries and vessel damage 11 1.5.1 Passenger injuries 11 1.5.2 Vessel damage 14 1.6 Spirit of Discovery14 1.6.1 Vessel 14 1.6.2 Crew 15 1.6.3 Safety management 15 1.6.4 Digital information recording devices 16 1.6.5 Propulsion pods 16 1.6.6 Pod motor units 16 1.6.7 Motor unit bilge system 18 1.6.8 Water leakage stop sequence alarm 18 1.6.9 Propulsion modes of operation 18 1.6.10 Propulsion overspeed protection 19 1.6.11 Power limitation function 19 1.6.12 Propulsion manuals 19 1.7 Cruise and voyage planning 20 1.7.1 Cruise planning 20 1.7.2 Voyage planning 20 1.8 The weather 21 1.8.1 The Bay of Biscay 21 1.8.2 Weather 21 1.8.3 Marine weather forecasting 23 1.8.4 Weather routing and information services 23 1.9 Scope to delay the passage 25 1.10 Heavy weather operations 25 1.10.1 The securing of objects on board 25 1.10.2 Seakeeping and manoeuvring 26 1.11 Medical services 26 1.11.1 Overview 26 1.11.2 Medical facilities audit 26 1.11.3 Mass casualty incident plan 28 1.11.4 Advanced Trauma Life Support training 28 1.11.5 Medical triage 28 1.12 Specialist medical review 28 1.13 Regulation and guidance 29 1.13.1 Propulsion performance/motion limits 29 1.13.2 Propulsion manuals 29 1.13.3 Voyage planning 29 1.13.4 Weather routing 29 1.13.5 Securing of objects during heavy weather 30 1.13.6 Medical provision on cruise ships 30 1.13.7 Mass casualty contingency plan 30 1.13.8 Access to specialist medical advice 30 1.13.9 Treatment of spinal injuries 31 1.14 Reference 31 1.14.1 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guideline 31 1.14.2 Mass casualty definition 31 1.15 Previous accidents – Spirit of Discovery32 1.15.1 February 2023 – overspeed event 32 1.15.2 February 2023 – water leakage stop sequence event 32 1.16 Similar accidents 33 1.16.1 Crown Princess – severe heeling incident 33 1.16.2 Pacific Sun – heavy weather damage 33 1.16.3 Viking Sky – heavy weather damage 33 1.16.4 Cruise ship passenger injuries 34 SECTION 2 – ANALYSIS 35 2.1 Aim 35 2.2 Overview 35 2.3 Loss of propulsion 35 2.3.1 Initial loss of propulsion 35 2.3.2 Vessel motion 36 2.3.3 Water leakage stop sequence 36 2.3.4 Operating instructions 37 2.3.5 Mode of operation 38 2.3.6 Previous heavy weather incident 38 2.3.7 Assessing pitch and roll 38 2.4 Voyage plan 39 2.4.1 Revised voyage plan 39 2.4.2 Operating limits 40 2.4.3 Delayed crossing of the Bay of Biscay 40 2.5 Voyage execution 41 2.5.1 Weather warnings 41 2.5.2 Risk of injury from unsecured furniture 41 2.6 Emergency response 42 2.6.1 Mass casualty incident plan 42 2.6.2 Spinal injury 43 SECTION 3 – CONCLUSIONS 44 3.1 Safety issues directly contributing to the accident that have been addressed or resulted in recommendations 44 3.2 Safety issues not directly contributing to the accident but resulting in actions taken or a recommendation 45 SECTION 4 – ACTION TAKEN 46 4.1 Actions taken by other organisations 46 SECTION 5 – RECOMMENDATIONS 48 FIGURES Figure 1: Spirit of Discovery profile and transverse arrangement Figure 2: Promenade Deck and Main Deck general arrangements Figure 3: Spirit of Discovery’s navigational track overlaid with marine forecast areas Figure 4: Example of the high-backed chair used by passenger 1 Figure 5: Passenger injuries by location (a) and time (b) Figure 6: CCTV images of public spaces after propulsion was lost Figure 7: Examples of the damage Figure 8: Cross-section of a Siemens SISHIp eSiPOD motor unit and bilge arrangements Figure 9: North Atlantic weather analysis charts for 3 November and 4 November 2023, highlighting the Bay of Biscay Figure 10: Extract from the Seakeeping and Manoeuvring – Decision Support poster TABLES Table 1: UK Met Office hindcast data for wave direction and height Table 2: Weather forecast summary for the afternoon of 4 November 2023 Table 3: Delayed crossing effect on weather and Portsmouth arrival Table 4: Comparison of similar previous accidents GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ° - degrees ACEP - American College of Emergency Physicians AIS - automatic identification system ATLS - Advanced Trauma Life Support BPG - Bridge Procedures Guide BVS - Bon Voyage System C/E - chief engineer CCR - Canadian C-spine Rule CCTV - closed-circuit television CETO - chief electro-technical officer CLIA - Cruise Lines International Association CoC - Certificate of Competency DE - drive end DNV - Det Norske Veritas DPA - Designated Person Ashore DSP - decision support poster EOOW - engineering officer of the watch FMECA - Failure Mode, Effects and Criticality Analysis gt - gross tonnage IACS - International Association of Classification Societies IMO - International Maritime Organization IP - injured person kts - knots kW - kilowatt LR - Lloyd’s Register MCA - Maritime and Coastguard Agency MCIP - mass casualty incident plan MGN - Marine Guidance Note MSC - Maritime Safety Committee MSN - Merchant Shipping Notice NCR - non-conformance report NDE - non-drive end NEXUS - National Emergency X-Radiography Utilization Study NHS - National Health Service NICE - National Institute for Health and Care Excellence NSIA - Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority NTSB - National Transportation Safety Board NUC - not under command OOW - officer of the watch PAR - passenger accident report PCS - propulsion control system pods - Siemens SISHIp eSiPODs rpm - revolutions per minute Saga - Saga Cruises V Limited Siemens Energy - Siemens Energy Global GmbH & C

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