"Completely shocked & devastated" ... "I'm not the same person" - deaths at sea inquest continues

Day three of an inquest into the deaths of two Spanish men heard the closing evidence of the coxswain of an RGP vessel, Officer One, and the his second in command, Officer Two.

Mustafa Dris Mohamed and Mohamed Abdeslam Ahmed died following a collision during a chase at sea between a police boat and a RHIB in March 2020.

The day opened with questions from Neil Costa, representing the RGP.  His focus was on the training and instruction provided to Officer one when he joined the Marine section and then when he qualified as a coxswain.

Officer One has previously said he had not been trained in high speed pursuits.  Mr Costa put to him that he had received training in several relevant areas – fast speed handling, manoeuvring at speed near other vessels, ensuring safety of crew and that of other vessels, and that these skills were transferable to high speed pursuits.

Officer One acknowledged this but said the training had been very basic.

He was then questioned by his own counsel, Jamas Hodivala KC, exploring the reasons for which the RGP coxswain entered Spanish waters on the night of the collision. 

While this fact is accepted, Officer One explained to the court the various factors that contributed to him believing he was in Gibraltar waters at all times. He told the jury he believed his AIS, a navigation device, had switched on automatically, as it did on another RGP vessel.

He said that aerial buoys - lit beacons in the water which had previously marked the perimeter of Gibraltar waters - were no longer there on the night of the collision, and that it was not as easy as previously suggested to tell his relative position from other landmarks like the runway.

In response to questions from Mr Hodivala, Officer One explained he thought he had been near the perimeter of Gibraltar waters and that a suspect RHIB had entered illegally, which led him to pursue.  He had engaged in dynamic risk assessment throughout the incident, requiring split second decisions, and that he conducted the chase in as safe a manner as a pursuit at sea can be up until the fatal collision.

Officer One closed his evidence by describing a number of relevant improvements made to RGP vessels since that night.

They have been fitted with a red beacon and an alarm that automatically activate when the vessel leaves BGTW, alerting the crew and contacting RGP Marine Base.

Forward-Looking Infra Red (FLIR) Cameras, which create a real time thermal image of what’s in front of the vessel, for low light and visibility situations.

When Mr Hodivala asked whether this equipment might have prevented the collision from occurring on the night, Officer One said it was difficult to say.

In the afternoon session, Officer Two took to the witness box; he told the court he had been responsible for paying attention to the radar and monitoring the radio.

He echoed Officer One’s evidence in answer to the Coroner’s questioning - he did not know the AIS was off, it wasn’t his responsibility to turn it on.  He believed the vessel was in Gibraltar waters at all times.   

He was asked that if he knew the chart plotter on the boat was off and he knew they were approaching the edge of BGTW, whether he should have taken more consideration of the vessel’s position.  Officer Two said yes.

He was asked whether at any point when heading north, he had glanced to the left and seen the Rock of Gibraltar, the relative position of which could have indicated they were entering Spanish waters.  He said no, he was focused on the radar.

Officer one told the court that his coxswain had maintained a safe distance throughout the chase and was navigating in a controlled manner.

Both Officers have impressed upon the jury the severe impact that the events of that night have had on them, with Officer One telling the court: "I was completely shocked and devastated...I still suffer PTSD, anxiety and depression to this day.

Officer Two told jurors: "I’m not the same person.. My life was ruined.. I still have flashbacks of that night".

The inquest continues on Thursday