Skipper, tour boat company fined for crash that left several injured in Western Australia waters

A court in Western Australia has ordered a local tour boat company and a boat captain to pay fines totalling AU$27,000 (US$17,000) for their role in a maritime accident that left several people injured in 2022.

Journey Beyond Adventures (which trades under the name Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures) and skipper Edward James Whisson had earlier pleaded guilty to separate charges of safety-related offences in the wake of the May 27, 2022 incident involving the high-speed tour boat Falls Express.

Mr Whisson was at the helm of Falls Express when it struck a rock wall at the Horizontal Falls nature preserve in Western Australia's Kimberley region shortly after 07:00 local time on the said date.

All 26 passengers and two crewmembers who were on the boat were safely rescued. Some of the occupants suffered significant injuries requiring surgery, though none of the injuries were life-threatening.

In May 2023, one year after the crash, charges were filed against Mr Whisson and Journey Beyond Adventures following an investigation by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

Mr Whisson was charged with two safety-related offences: failing to take reasonable care, and not implementing and complying with the safety management system for the vessel and its operations.

Journey Beyond Adventures was meanwhile charged with two offences for: failing to, so far as reasonably practicable, ensure the safety of the vessel, its equipment and the operation of the vessel; and failing to implement and maintain a safety management system that could ensure the vessel and its operations were safe.

Journey Beyond Adventures subsequently entered a guilty plea to one charge, while the other charge against the company was dropped following the conclusion of discussions between the company's legal counsel and prosecutors.