A report into the sinking of a US water taxi has revealed the American Coast Guard failed to account for the rise in weight of modern-day passengers. The Lady D sank in Baltimore in 2004, killing five people, including a six-year-old boy, because it was overloaded. The report by the National Transportation Safety Board said passenger weight was decided on 1940s guidelines in which the average weight was 65kg, instead of today’s weight of 76kg.

Last year the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) reported a similar increase in passenger weight after investigating a capsize on the Norfolk Broads. They said the average weight of a boat passenger has risen from 64kg in the 1950s to 75kg today, leading to commercial boat operators being obliged to carry out new stability tests.