HONG KONG — 2012 · Major Tragedy
The Lamma Ferry Collision — Fireworks Night
On the evening of 1 October 2012, the vessel Lamma IV, carrying power company employees and their families to Victoria Harbour to watch the Chinese National Day fireworks, collided with the passenger ferry Sea Smooth off Lamma Island at around 20:23. Lamma IV sank within minutes. 39 people died and 92 were injured, making it Hong Kong's deadliest maritime accident in decades. A government commission of inquiry released its report in April 2013, identifying failures by both captains and lapses in the Marine Department's oversight. In February 2015, the Sea Smooth captain was convicted of 39 counts of manslaughter and sentenced to eight years; the Lamma IV captain was convicted of endangering safety at sea.
- Date
- 2012
- Place
- Off Lamma Island, Hong Kong, HK
- Category
- Major Tragedy
- Case Status
- Closed
- Coordinates
- 22.2300, 114.1200 ↗
Timeline of Events
- 1 October 2012, 20:23Lamma IV and Sea Smooth collided off Lamma Island.
- 2 October 2012The death toll was put at 39; Hong Kong went into mourning.
- 19 April 2013The commission of inquiry published its report.
- February 2015The Sea Smooth captain was convicted of 39 counts of manslaughter.
- February 2015The Sea Smooth captain was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Sources
- BBC — Hong Kong ferry collision bbc.co.uk ↗
- BBC — Lamma ferry captain found guilty bbc.co.uk ↗
- CNN — Hong Kong ferry crash edition.cnn.com ↗
- SCMP — Lamma ferry verdicts scmp.com ↗
- Wikipedia — 2012 Lamma Island ferry collision en.wikipedia.org ↗
- BBC News
- CNN
- South China Morning Post
- Wikipedia (EN)
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.