‘It could have caused fatalities and millions in damages’ warns boat owner
This is the moment a mystery man untied the mooring ropes of a large boat on Bristol’s Floating Harbour – and risked ‘causing millions of pounds of damage or a fatality’. And after reports of similar incidents in the past few weeks, there are now fears that a serial vandal is setting loose the boats tied up in the harbour, and disconnecting power supplies too, in the middle of the night.
The latest incident happened last week and was caught on CCTV. At 3am early on the morning of Wednesday, September 10, an unidentified man approached the mooring ropes of the 200 ton research vessel Lady Kate, which is docked at Hannover Quay, right next to the Lloyds Amphitheatre in the centre of Bristol.
He was captured on CCTV lifting the mooring rope and then approaching the middle of the boat and watching as, within seconds, the boat began to drift away from the quayside. The man on board at the time said he’s since learned that similar incidents have happened to other boats, and is ‘deeply worried’ that something serious might happen if the man is not stopped.
The figure caught in the darkness on the CCTV appeared to be a mature man wearing a wide-brimmed hat, trainers, dark trousers and a lighter jacket or coat with dark stripes at the elbows.
The boat targeted is the Lady Kate, an 80ft long, 200 ton research vessel that is part of a global organisation called The Extraction Action Alliance, an initiative based in 157 countries on six continents that looks to take action to reduce the amount of plastic going into rivers and seas, and also to extract the vast amounts of plastic already in the oceans.
Paul Manning, left, the Chief of Oceans for global environmental organisation The Extraction Action Alliance. TEAA’s field studies boat the Lady Kate was let loose on Bristol’s Floating Harbour by a mystery man captured on CCTV(Image: Paul Manning/TEAA)
TEAA’s chief of oceans is Paul Manning, who is moored in Bristol after the boat was refitted in Gloucester, ahead of a TEAA mission in the Mediterranean next year. He was asleep on board at 3am, and woke to find the boat had drifted out into the Floating Harbour.
“It is really concerning. He didn’t untie the moorings at the other end of the boat, but it meant we drifted out perpendicular to the harbourside,” said Mr Manning. “The worrying thing is that, if this had happened on the night of the really strong winds then it’s a possibility the other mooring would have come loose and we’d be crashing around the harbour doing untold damage to other vessels.
“What happened caused minimal problems, but the boat is 200 tons, it could have caused millions of pounds of damage. It could have been fatal if we didn’t have crew on board – this man must be stopped,” he added.
Mr Manning told Bristol Live that neighbouring boats were also targeted by the man on the same night, and other boat owners along the Floating Harbour said on previous nights in the past weeks and months, other boats have been targeted before. “Neighbours say they’ve had their moorings untied or released and power cables from the harbourside unplugged and let loose.
“Something needs to be done to stop this idiot, we need to deter him or anyone else from such stupid acts of mindless nonsense,” he added.
The Extraction Action Alliance’s field studies boat the Lady Kate was let loose on Bristol’s Floating Harbour by a mystery man captured on CCTV(Image: Paul Manning/TEAA)
“It’s an absolute pleasure being in Bristol, at the heart of Britain’s maritime heritage, but we need to warn these types of fools that it’s no joke,” he said.
The incidents have been reported to the Harbourmaster, who works under the umbrella of Bristol City Council. The council has been approached for a comment, and a response is awaited.
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