The Master of a boat carrying West Ham fans which crashed into Hammersmith Bridge causing £100,000 of damage has been fined.
The MV Emerald of London crashed into the Grade-II listed bridge in December while ferrying fans to Fulham's stadium on the banks of the Thames for a Premier League match.
Video footage showed the vessel. which was carrying more than 100 passengers, wedged beneath the Victorian bridge.
Daniel Davis, who was in charge of the boat, admitted he was guilty of ploughing the vessel into the bridge,
A combination of high tide and river water meant there was insufficient clearance for the vessel to navigate safely under the bridge, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
Davis had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to the charge of navigating the vessel “in a manner liable to injure or endanger persons, other vessels, the banks of the Thames or any structure or installation in or beside the Thames”.
As Master of the vessel he was in charge of safety and navigation but the court heard that he had not anticipated the difficult conditions in the river.
Davis was fined £1,900 - reduced to £1,500 in light of his previous good character - and ordered to pay the Port of London Authority’s costs of £10,000 at a sentencing hearing on Thursday.
Port of London Authority (PLA) Chief Harbour Master James Stride said: “With 100 people onboard, this had the potential to be a far more serious incident.
“Thankfully, no one was injured but the standard of Mr Davis’s navigation of his vessel fell significantly below the high standards we set for navigational safety on the tidal Thames. We will continue to take action against Masters who demonstrate insufficient care and attention on the river.
“I would like to thank the vessel’s owners, London Party Boats, for their co-operation with our investigation as well as the other agencies for their support.”
A £250m project to stabilise Hammersmith Bridge, which started in 2019, was paused because of the MV Emerald incident.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council said after the accident it would look to recover costs from the company that owns the boat.
The bridge is now open to pedestrians and cyclists but no motor traffic.
