Royal Navy officer's yacht collided with oil tanker after straying into shipping lane The fully-laden crude oil tanker had been travelling up The Solent on its way to Fawley oil refinery, off Cowes, Isle of Wight, on Aug 6, 2011. Because of its size, the tanker had to be escorted by two pilot boats and stay within a strict channel marked by buoys. Smaller vessels were not allowed into the passage, a committal hearing at Southampton magistrates" court was told. Mr Wilson, 31, from Stanley, Perthshire, was accused of breaching maritime law by ignoring the 3,300ft exclusion zone and cutting across the narrow shipping channel. He denies three charges of failing to maintain a proper lookout, impeding the passage of the UK-registered tanker and crossing the channel used by the tanker. A trial date was set for Oct 7 at Southampton magistrates" court. Peter Handley, prosecuting for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, said: "The incident occurred broadly in the middle of a channel. This was the second to last leg of the race. The Hanne Knutsen is a large tanker, which was carrying a cargo of crude oil and heading for Fawley, to discharge. She was under the guidance of two registered pilots. Like all large commercial vessels, she came into The Solent from the east, and can only navigate within a safe water, staying between buoys. Vessels heading up to Fawley have to begin a very broad turn to starboard, up past Calshot, into Southampton water. That is a 120 degree turn, and one of the most difficult parts of the pilotage in that area. There was contact between Hanne Knutsen and Atalanta of Chester, resulting in the yacht scraping down the port side of the tanker. The rigging got caught on the anchor, bringing down the mast and one crew member was injured. Mr Wilson was released on unconditional bail and told of the trial date. The hearing was told 12 witnesses would be called to give evidence.