March 23, 2023 at 11:00 GMT
Updated 37 minutes ago
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Police said Petrel was evicted from its dry dock position
An incident in which a US Navy ship overturned in a dry dock in Edinburgh was “unlikely” to be caused by high winds, a marine expert has said.
dr Iraklis Lazakis, from the University of Strathclyde’s Department of Marine Architecture, said it was “very unusual for such accidents to happen”.
35 people were injured when the research vessel Petrel slipped from its position at Imperial Dock, Leith.
Ten are still being treated in hospital after the incident on Wednesday morning.
NHS Lothian said 23 people were taken to hospital, some with serious injuries, and 12 others were being treated at the yard, which is operated by Dales Marine Services.
The Health and Safety Agency said inspectors would visit the site later to launch an investigation in cooperation with Police Scotland.
dr Lazakis told BBC Scotland he was surprised the 3,000 tonne ship was able to break loose.
“It’s very, very unusual for accidents like this to happen,” he told The Nine.
“I have never experienced such accidents myself, having been involved in a number of dry docks around the world and throughout my academic career. Nothing like this has ever happened.”
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Images on social media showed the ship at a 45-degree angle
According to Met Office data, at 08:00 gusts of up to 61 km/h were measured inland from the Gogarbank shipyard. But Mr Lazakis did not expect wind to be the cause of the incident.
“The dry dock is like a large trench dug or a shelf where the ship lies with all its structure and weight,” he added.
“So it would probably have been unlikely to simply be tipped over by the wind.
“It’s something that needs to be investigated really, really thoroughly to make sure what the original cause of the whole accident was, but I have to say it’s a very, very unusual thing to happen inside a dry dock.”
A serious incident was reported after emergency crews were called to the shipyard at around 0830.
NHS Lothian said 15 patients were taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) in an ambulance with two others tending to them. Four were also taken to Western General Hospital (WGH) and two to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife.
Of the 17 people treated at the RIE, nine have been discharged and eight remain hospitalized, some with serious injuries. The four patients of the WGH are waiting to be discharged.
The two patients treated in Fife remain hospitalized.
The US consulate thanked the emergency services for their “quick response” and said it was offering assistance to US citizens involved.
The 76 m (250 ft) Petrel was purchased by the United States Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center and operated by Oceaneering International since October 2022.
The ship previously belonged to the estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
It was placed on long-term berth in 2020 due to ‘operational challenges’ during the Covid pandemic and has not been used since.
A US Navy spokeswoman said: “We continue to communicate with our contacts on the ground to understand what happened, what actions are being taken and the long-term impact.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured and their families in the hope of a speedy and full recovery.”
A spokesman for Dales Marine Services added: “We can confirm that everyone on board and at the facility has been taken care of and our priority is to ensure the well-being of everyone involved.”