Day two of deaths at sea inquest sees RGP coxswain cross examined

An inquest into the deaths of two Spanish men continued in the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

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

The RGP coxswain on that night – referred to as Officer One in court – continued giving his evidence.

He answered questions from the coroner, Karl Tonna; from Christopher Finch, representing the interests of the deceased; and from Neil Costa, who represents the RGP.

Much of Mr Finch’s questioning on Tuesday focused on the location of the RGP vessel at the point of interception and in the subsequent chase, and on the manner in which it engaged with the RHIB in the chase leading up to the fatal collision.

Officer One has maintained throughout his testimony that he believed he was inside Gibraltar waters at all times.  He acknowledged that RGP protocol prohibits entering Spanish waters - even during a chase - and that this was only ever permissible in a Search and Rescue operation. The court was then shown an animation on a map illustrating tracking data from the RHIB’s AIS on the night, a device which shows and tracks the vessel’s location. 

Officer One accepted the evidence, acknowledging the animation showed that the interception, chase and collision all took place in Spanish waters.  However, he repeated that he believed he had been in Gibraltar waters throughout.

When questioned by the coroner on whether he might have been able to tell that he was in Spanish waters from the relative position of the Rock, or the lights from the runway, Officer One said he had not seen them because he was closely monitoring his radar and what was in front of him at the time.  He said his second in command had been as well and that nobody aboard had realised that they were in Spanish waters at any moment.

In cross examination, Mr Finch put to Officer One that he had known he was in Spanish waters and was trying to avoid what he knew would be the consequences of his unlawful actions.  Officer One rejected this.

The court was also shown a 15 minute video of the night time chase taken from Spain.  Mr Finch put it to Officer One that the vessels looked so close together that they were at times practically abreast.  The Officer rejected this, he said the image showed a misleading angle, and he repeated his assertion that he had kept a safe distance at all times during the chase.

In previous testimony he told the court that he thought the RGP boat’s AIS turned on automatically.  While it was not turned on during the chase, the RGP’s AIS was switched on after the collision, while it was towing the stricken RHIBback to the Rock, when inside Gibraltar waters.  Mr Finch asked if this was a coincidence.  Officer One said he could not account for it, and did not dispute the evidence, but that he did not switch it on and he didn’t know did.  He told the jury he was in shock following the fatal collision and could not remember much of what had followed that night.

The day ended with questioning from Neil Costa.  Officer One recounted his training as a coxswain, his experience in the RGP Marine section, and told the court that he had taken on numerous pursuits in the past, and never been involved in any collisions or other incidents.

He detailed his communications with Guardia Civil and the MOD on the night, and again underlined a point he has emphasised throughout his testimony: that he was operating in challenging conditions with low visibility and under high pressure, but at no point had he intentionally tried to make contact with the RHIB.

On Wednesday, Officer One will be questioned by his counsel, Jamas Hodivala KC of Matrix Chambers.