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Death of British man on Marco Polo cruise was ‘tragic accident’
An inquest has concluded that a ‘tragic accident’ was to blame for the death of an 85-year-old man on the cruise ship Marco Polo last February.
James Swinstead was sitting with his wife, Helen, at a restaurant table near the window of the ship during a severe storm in the English Channel.
He was killed on impact by a broken window, which fell when a freak wave hit the ship.
Essex Coroner’s Court heard that Mr Swinstead, from Colchester, suffered a fractured skull and extensive brain damage after two windows smashed and two others dislodged but did not shatter.
The incident happened on Valentine’s Day as the Marco Polo was on its way back to Tilbury after a 42-night cruise from the Caribbean.
The ship is operated by Cruise and Maritime Voyages (CMV) and registered in the Bahamas.
The Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA) carried out an investigation following the incident but said there was no evidence that the windows were in bad condition.
Marco Polo issued a statement following the inquest saying the BMA found no fault with the vessel which was fully certified by its Classification Society and was equipped with all safety requirements.
"It was inspected by the BMA immediately following the incident after which she was declared safe to continue on her itinerary," it said.
"The report also contains no criticism of the owners in respect of the regime of safety inspections or the construction and structural soundness of the vessel, and finds that there was no breach of any applicable regulations. This was a tragic accident caused by the severe and unpredicted weather conditions."
The statement added: "We understand that the inquest will have been a difficult time for Mrs Swinstead and our thoughts are with her. Mr Swinstead was fatally injured by a series of unusual and unforeseeable events tragically coming together at one time."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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