A court of inquiry found that the loss was due to a known design flaw identified in tank testing. The flaw resulted in the loss of the RHIB and water entering the cargo deck after the doors were opened by the sea. As a result of this the doors were tied shut. The court of inquiry also reported slamming of the bow and propellers leaving the water. Options to resolve the design problems on the ship include closing the alcoves in which the ship's boats had been stowed. At the time the RHIB was lost, the ship's log records the weather conditions as being a wind strength of , gusting to , a swell of (sea state six), and a completely overcast, very dark night. The alcoves are above the waterline and were swamped by the waves and because the ship was experiencing severe motion, rolling up to 28 degrees to port, at a roll frequency of 11.5 seconds. The ship's anti-roll system will not function when the period of the ship's roll is less than 11.9 seconds. As a result, work was begun to relocate the boats to a less vulnerable location.