At a hearing in Folkestone Magistrates Court, the skipper of a fishing vessel pleaded guilty to one offence following a collision with a coaster on 21st March 2007. It is accounted that an Antigua & Barbuda registered coaster was on passage from Rye in Sussex to Brake via the English Inshore Traffic Zone (EITZ). At about 1105utc the Chief Officer on the coaster observed a southbound fishing vessel. It was on a collision course. Attempts to contact the fishing vessel by radio met with no response.
He then put the helm hard over to starboard and while manoeuvring the fishing vessel hit the coaster on the port quarter. Shortly before the collision someone ran from below into the wheelhouse of the fishing vessel. The fishing vessel was the Belgian beam trawler Zeldenrust. It is told that after exchanging details the coaster headed into Ramsgate for repairs and the Zeldenrust continued towards the fishing grounds.
The authorities came to know about the collision after the arrival of the coaster at Ramsgate with damage. After probe it was found that at the time of the collision the Zeldenrust was not fishing and enroute for new fishing grounds. It was also found that the skipper of the Zeldenrust, Robbert van Belzen, was working on the vessels computer and had not seen the coaster.
Robbert van Belzen (age 48) of Arnemuiden in the Netherlands pleaded guilty to a breach of Rule 5 of the Colregs (failure to keep a good lookout). He was fined £2700 and ordered to pay costs of £8000. According to the Magistrate they took into account the serious damage that was sustained by the other vessel and that the incident had taken place in an area of busy shipping.
