“We’re talking about a busy waterway between Fremantle and Rottnest Island that gets used extensively by recreational vessels,” son Heath Gillard told Nine News Perth.
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“We just cannot believe that this incident happened, there were no circumstances that were untoward that day, dad’s boat wasn’t moving, it was the middle of the day on a perfect day.
“We’re gutted, we’re absolutely gutted. This wasn’t a momentary act, this wasn’t a couple of seconds, this wasn’t looking down at a phone or looking out to the side, this was a period of up to 15 minutes where dad’s boat was there to be seen.”
The commercial barge made regular trips to and from the island, transporting fuel and supplies and travelled at around eight knots.
During Blakely’s criminal trial, the jury heard how the vessel was being operated on autopilot on the day the incident occurred. Blakeley was in the look-out station, navigating the vessel at all times, with other crew members in a gully watching cricket.
The Spinifex MV. Credit: 9 News Perth
Heath Gillard is calling on the state government to introduce stricter laws on large commercial vessels operating in busy recreational lanes that would require two look-outs at any one time and better collision avoidance technology.
“We don’t want another family to go through what we’ve gone through,” he said.
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