A cruise ship with hundreds of people on board crashed into rocks off the coast of Scotland due to poor practice from the captain and crew, a report has found.

The Bahamas-registered MV Hamburg hit rocks near Tobermory on the Isle of Mull on May 11 last year, leaving the vessel, carrying 297 passengers and 164 crew, badly damaged and causing a black out.

The ship's captain was last year prosecuted over the incident for the failure of a passage plan and failing to report an accident contrary to the Merchant Shipping Regulations 2012. He pleaded guilty and was fined.

Now, a report into the crash by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has found the crew as well as the captain contributed to what happened.

There were no injuries but the accident caused considerable raking damage to the hull and rendered the port propeller, shaft and rudder unserviceable. The cruise ship need three months of repairs.

The visit to Tobermory was ultimately abandoned and the vessel was taken back out to the open sea with unknown damage to its structure.

It then diverted to Belfast where a dive survey revealed the extent of the damage. The vessel was withdrawn from service for three months.

The report, published on Thursday, stated: "The master (captain) did not demand a high standard of navigational practices from his officers which resulted in a weak practices amongst the bridge team.

"Hamburg's bridge team failed to apply Bridge Team Management tools effectively, either before or after the grounding, despite the requirements of the Safety Management System and the master and navigator having received Bridge Resource Management training.

"The individuals on the bridge were working in isolation, with no recognition of their individual responsibilities and therefore unable to provide the master with the assistance he required to maintain his situational awareness.

"No actions or decisions taken at any stage on Hamburg's bridge, before or following the grounding, were questioned by any member of the bridge team.

"As a result of poor communication, the bridge team were unable to respond effectively to the challenges resulting from the developing traffic situation in their approach to the New Rocks shoal.

"The decision to sail for Belfast without first developing a plan with the vessel's senior officers, technical managers and the relevant authorities ashore was inappropriate and incurred additional unnecessary risks."

It added: "Hamburg grounded on the charted New Rocks shoal because the bridge team did not recognise that their vessel was approaching the New Rocks buoy from an unsafe direction.

"There is significant evidence that insufficient attention was being paid to the conduct of navigation on Hamburg."