The lead of the official Commission of Inquiry probing the deadly July 18 maritime collision off Saint Lucia’s Anse Cochon has emphatically cleared all passengers aboard the two involved vessels of any responsibility for the fatal incident, which claimed four lives when the Ocean Angel and Cazorla Jr struck each other while travelling in opposite directions during the island’s Carnival weekend.
Commission Chairman Mario Michel used the opening moments of the inquiry’s Wednesday public hearing to directly address mounting public concerns that had surfaced following the first round of witness testimony, ranging from public criticism of witness accounts and commissioners’ questioning tactics to calls for formal legal representation for participants in the proceedings.
Michel made a landmark, pre-final-report ruling that immediately absolved every passenger connected to the incident: the eight survivors who had already given testimony, and the three passengers who lost their lives in the crash, had taken zero actions that contributed to the collision, the subsequent injuries, or the resulting fatalities. He emphasized that the group had simply set out to enjoy the widely celebrated local Carnival weekend, a perfectly lawful and reasonable activity that no one could have reasonably expected would end in disaster. The fourth fatality, the original captain of the Ocean Angel, is being categorized as crew for the scope of the inquiry, hence the separate count of three deceased passengers.
Acknowledging that minor inconsistencies had appeared across the 11 witness statements submitted to the panel so far, Michel noted that such discrepancies are entirely predictable when collecting accounts from a large group of people who experienced a deeply traumatic event. Many surviving passengers continue to grapple with lingering psychological distress, including the grief of losing close friends, harrowing near-death experiences during the incident, and lingering physical injuries from the crash, factors that can easily shape how people recall chaotic, high-stress moments. Michel extended formal public gratitude to all passenger witnesses for stepping forward to share their accounts, stating that the entire nation of Saint Lucia owed the group a profound debt of appreciation for their willingness to help the panel reconstruct a full, accurate timeline of the tragedy.
Michel drew a clear line between passengers and the rest of the people aboard the two vessels, noting that the inquiry’s full scope of scrutiny remains focused on captains, boat owners, and all on-duty crew members. Unlike the fully exonerated passengers, this group remains under active investigation to determine if any of their actions contributed to causing the collision. While he thanked crew and owner witnesses for their participation to date, Michel confirmed the panel retains the authority to recall any of these individuals for additional testimony if new evidence emerges that requires further clarification.
Addressing widespread public pushback over what some observers described as overly aggressive questioning of witnesses by commissioners, Michel acknowledged the rigorous, pointed line of inquiry used by two members of the panel in particular, but rejected claims that the approach was intended to show disrespect to witnesses. He explained that the firm, targeted questioning methods align with standard police investigative protocols, designed to extract unvarnished, factual details about the moments leading up to the crash rather than to intimidate or demean participants.
Michel also addressed public concerns about access to legal representation for witnesses, confirming that every person appearing before the commission had been explicitly offered the option of having legal counsel present to support their testimony. Of the two boat owners involved, one accepted the offer and had an attorney present during their testimony, while the other owner and the testifying captain both formally declined representation even after receiving repeated reminders of their legal right to consult and be accompanied by a lawyer.
The commission is currently in the process of compiling and cross-referencing all submitted evidence from passengers, crew, boat owners, and independent third-party observers to identify the exact root causes of the Anse Cochon collision, and to draft targeted regulatory or safety recommendations that will prevent an identical tragedy from occurring in the future. The series of public hearings is scheduled to resume immediately following Wednesday’s proceedings.
Michel: Passengers ‘did nothing’ to cause collision
