Nautical tradition says that you can't change a ship's (or presumably a boat's) luck by changing its name. Upholder is nearly thirty years old, what would one expect of a vessel of such antiquity?
Edited to say that I stand corrected below by Mad_Mark. Launched in 1983 delivered in 1986, so that should read 'nearly 20 years old', not 30 - although Upholder was mothballed from 1993. The original design dates back to 1973 and used railway locomotive diesel engines to keep costs down. These engines were not designed or capable of being started or stopped rapidly. Meanwhile the electric motors were prone to exploding into flames if put into reverse with forward speed remaining. To put it simply, once the boat was up to speed it was impossible to stop quickly - no brakes! These design deficiencies were the subject of modifications after entry into service so they presumably are not involved in this unfortunate incident that has cost one crew member his life.
