27 June 2023 , 20:00
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A pleasure cruise investigated in relation to the deaths of two children has been sold so the owners can avoid liquidation.
The Dorset Belle was seized by police after an incident in the water on May 31, which saw Joe Abbess, 17, and 12-year-old Sunnah Khan die.
Investigators were spotted onboard the boat in the days after it had been impounded at the Cobb’s Quay, Poole Harbour, with a police van on guard.
The sale comes after The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) confirmed today it believes no boat was involved in the two deaths.
Boat operator Island Cruises Ltd last week announced it had permanently ceased operations at Bournemouth Pier.
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And now company director Dave Wilcock said the "heartbreaking decision" to sell the vessel was made with bills "mounting up".
The firm has owned the boat - built in 1974 - for nearly five years but is understood to have formally handed it over to new unnamed operators this afternoon.
The vessel ceased operations from Bournemouth Pier earlier this month (Max Willcock/BNPS)Mr Wilcock, 58, said in a Facebook post: "Unfortunately due to the circumstances currently surrounding the Dorset Belle, the only option available to Island Cruises is to sell her to avoid liquidation of the company.
"The bills have been mounting up and need to be paid, the lack of money due to the vessel not operating has been a major factor in this heartbreaking decision.
"We have owned her for almost 5 years, made it through Covid and the recession but the last few weeks have been too much financially and mentally with lots of sleepless nights.
"I have searched for a solution to keep her operating from Bournemouth but have drawn a blank.
Joe Abbess,17, from Southampton (PA)
Sunnah Khan, 12, from High Wycombe"She was handed over to her new owners this afternoon, she will be deeply missed by us all.
"On a positive note, her new owners are already spending time on her to get her ready for the remainder of the summer, we all wish them the very best for the future.
"Fair winds and following seas old girl."
Mr Wilcock also added that the new owners will not be operating the vessel from Bournemouth Pier.
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Multiple people had to be pulled from the water and treated by emergency services during the incident (Max Willcock/BNPS)MAIB said this afternoon it has decided not to carry out a full inquiry following a "thorough preliminary assessment".
Its statement said: "Having conducted a thorough preliminary assessment of the circumstances of this tragic accident the MAIB has decided that no formal investigation will be launched.
"This was a truly tragic accident but our understanding of the circumstances is that it did not involve a vessel and therefore is not something the branch would investigate."
A man in his 40s, who police said was "on the water" at the time, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and later released under investigation.
A police officer looks out over Bournemouth beach following the deaths (PA)Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council suspended boat operations from the pier.
An inquest into the deaths of the two youngsters, which was opened at Bournemouth Town Hall earlier this month, heard that they were part of a group of people thought to have been caught up in a riptide in the sea near the pier.
Post-mortem examinations found that they both died of drowning, the inquest was told before coroner Rachael Griffin adjourned proceedings to a further hearing in September.
Dorset Police said the beach was extremely busy at the time of the incident but that neither of the youngsters nor anyone else pulled from the sea had been involved in any collision or contact with any vessel in the water.