About the Inquiry
On Friday 9 September 2011, BSES announced the appointment of High Court Judge Sir David Steel to chair an independent inquiry into the tragic incident in Svalbard on 5 August 2011.
Sir David will work independently of BSES and his work will encompass the following:
- The identification of all relevant facts and circumstances which led to the incident;
- A consideration of all aspects of the expedition from expedition planning, governance, provisioning, recruitment, training, implementation, management and incident response;
- The conduct of voluntary interviews with witnesses and all those directly affected by the incident;
- Cooperation with, and consideration of, any available findings from investigations by the Norwegian authorities;
- Cooperation with the Wiltshire Coroner.
The inquiry is now underway. Sir David intends to complete and publish the report in the New Year.
Contacting the Inquiry
You can contact Sir David and submit information to the inquiry either
directly by email, or through the form below.