A court of inquiry faulted the master and owners of the Israeli bulk carrier Mezada for her loss, with 24 lives, during a North Atlantic gale near Bermuda last March 8. The panel, sitting in Haifa, said today that Israel’s worst maritime disaster resulted from a combination of stormy seas and human error.
It found that Capt. Gera Levin, who went down with his ship, had failed to take proper actions when she began to take water through a hatch cover smashed by heavy seas. It also charged the Zim Lines, owners of the Mezada, with laxity in dealing with reports of the ship’s difficulties. The court said the authorities in Bermuda seem to have shown more concern than the Zim management on the basis of information received. It recommended creation of a team of experts to draw up emergency procedures for Israel’s merchant fleet.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
