Captains may have averted an even bigger disaster
Vessels both swerved late to their right, avoiding a head-on collision; police investigate whether there was a failure to give way
The captains of the two ferries may have averted a head-on crash, and an even bigger disaster, by both swerving right, said a marine engineering expert who studied photos of the wreckage.
Louis Szeto Ka-sing, a specialist in vessel design and maintenance at the Hong Kong Institute of Engineers, said this would explain the damage to the left sides of the two ferries.
"The captains were sitting on the right side of the vessels. It would be natural for them to turn right to protect themselves after finding they were getting too close and could collide," Szeto said. "By the time they hit, the smaller vessel would have completed its turn. So the head of the ferry could have crashed into the launch's end."
We will investigate why they did not see each other and whether crew members of the two vessels involved were negligent in the incident
Pictures of the wrecked vessel, the Lamma IV, which was moved to shallow waters off Lamma Island on Tuesday night, show a hole of three metres square under the water line, Szeto said.
The pictures confirmed his earlier view that two of the six watertight compartments below deck could have been damaged and filled with water, leading to the quick sinking of the launch.
Police said they were investigating whether a failure by the captains to give way was to blame for the collision of the public ferry, the Sea Smooth, and the Lamma IV, which led to 38 deaths and more than 100 injured.
Detectives from the marine police regional crime unit will talk to survivors to collect evidence.
"We will investigate why they did not see each other and whether crew members of the two vessels involved were negligent in the incident," a government source said.