A coroner has expressed his industry wide concerns relating to the safety of marinas following the death of a houseboat resident.
An inquest into the death of Catherine Forbes heard how the 57-year-old drowned after falling into a marina and was unable to use the emergency ladders to climb out as they were too short.
She was discovered the following morning.
The inquest heard that Ms Forbes was a resident in her boat at the Thames and Kennet Marina, Caversham, but drowned after falling into the marina late on 31 March 2023.
The report by Mr Darren Salter HM Senior Coroner for Oxfordshire, stated that the drowning was unwitnessed but Ms Forbes was said to be a strong swimmer.
There is clear evidence that she swam to a nearby ladder and tried to use it to climb out.
The ladder was 1.5m in length with three rungs in the water but the bottom rung extended no more than 600mm beneath the surface of the water.
Ms Forbes did not have the necessary strength to raise her legs up and pull herself up before succumbing to the cold and drowning.
I enquire if the concerns raised in this report can be taken into account.
Darren Salter
Safety improvements have since been made at the marina, specifically in relation to risk assessment and ladders have been upgraded to 2m in length with a minimum of 1m beneath the water.
Catherine Forbes was the third person to drown in similar circumstances at the marina since 2016.
The coroner stated that he has continuing industry wide concerns, particularly in relation to persons falling into the marina, on their own and unwitnessed, and what measures are in place to enable them to get out or raise the alarm.
In a letter to the Yacht Harbour Association, the coroner asks if ladders are sufficiently designed in terms of length and grip and if there are any other devices which a person could access more easily.
Thames and Kennet Marina was acquired by the Tingdene Group in 2004 and has been awarded five Gold Anchors by the Yacht Harbour Association.
Award evaluation
Safety is not part of the evaluation regarding the award.
The marina was not fully compliant with the TYHA 2013 Code of Practice in relation to the length of all ladders.
The code was due to be reviewed from June 2024.
“I enquire if the concerns raised in this report can be taken into account, in conjunction with designers and suppliers who the TYHA consult with,” said the coroner.
“I can advise that I will be supplying a copy of this report to the HSE and also the organisation with oversight of District Councils’ who often have responsibility for health and safety enforcement of marinas instead of the HSE.”
