Despite a strong Vaudaire storm which was forecast for Friday evening March 29, the Simplon, broken down, had been left moored at the Cully pontoon (VD). The multiple danger signals clearly highlighted by MétéoNews, relayed by lematin.ch to the general director of the CGN, Pierre Imhof, had strangely not been taken into account.
As a result, the boat of the Belle-Époque fleet almost sank, mishandled and very seriously damaged by the wind and the raging waves of Lake Geneva. The Cully landing stage had also suffered significant damage. It has since been rebuilt. For its part, very damaged, the Simplon is still under repair.
A college of independent experts, appointed however by the CGN, carried out the investigation and delivered its report, which was communicated today. The experts note “gaps in the organization of the CGN in terms of identification and management of crisis situations”.
The board of directors “also takes the shortcomings noted very seriously,” says the report. New exercises and a new internal organization are therefore called upon to be developed, in order to avoid a similar situation again.
Taking note of the expert report “which highlights a need to reorganize the CGN’s processes, the operations director considers that he is no longer the person capable of calmly leading the necessary changes. The CGN Board of Directors shares this opinion. By mutual agreement, it was thus decided to put an end to the employment relationship,” specifies the report.
Regarding the First Captain, who was associated with various decisions documented in the report, the board of directors sent him a reminder of his professional obligations. But he keeps his position.
And on the side of general director Pierre Imhof? “He will retire on May 31, 2025. He will thus still be able to monitor several important ongoing projects,” according to the same report.
The CGN board of directors considers that “it is also now essential to rapidly progress the work with a view to resuming navigation of the Simplon, in accordance with the commitments it has made.”
