The Gothenburg District Court in Sweden has handed down suspended sentences on the captain and the pilot of the Norwegian general cargo ship Misje Verde over a fatal collision with a family’s recreational boat that had occurred off Tjörn Municipality earlier this year.
Both individuals were convicted of negligent homicide, negligent bodily injury, and negligence in maritime traffic.
The smaller boat sank after the July 28 collision on Hakefjorden, killing a woman and her daughter and injuring the woman's husband and her son.
The court found that the ship’s lookout had been inadequate and that the recreational boat should have been detected in time to avoid the collision. As the overtaking vessel, Misje Verde was required to keep out of the way of the smaller vessel.
The findings concerned Rule 5, requiring a proper lookout, and Rule 13, governing overtaking. The court said it had been unclear who was to keep lookout, although the captain retained overall responsibility.
“In this case, the pilot assumed greater responsibility for the ship’s operation than necessarily follows from the pilot assignment,” said Anne Rapp, the chief judge who presided over the case.
The unanimous ruling found that both men’s negligence was not minor, given the importance of maintaining a sufficient lookout during a summer voyage through an archipelago.
The pilot also received 80-day fines of SEK640 (US$64) each. The captain was not fined because he had already been deprived of his liberty in the case.
Prosecutors had previously sought an extension of his detention while the necessary evidence was gathered.
“We will definitely appeal the judgment,” the pilot’s lawyer, Thomas Håkansson, told local news outlet SVT, adding that the court had assigned his client too much responsibility.
The captain’s lawyer, Taavi Tula, said the defence has not yet decided whether to appeal.
Both men denied the charges. During the trial, the captain said he believed the pilot had taken control of navigation while he worked at a computer on administrative tasks. The pilot maintained that responsibility for lookout rested with the captain, however.
The Swedish Maritime Administration, which employed the pilot, told newspaper Aftonbladet it temporarily suspended pilot operations at Marstrand following concerns about staff well-being after the judgment. About 10 vessels were affected, and operations resumed on the afternoon of Thursday, October 1.
Misje Verde was sailing from Uddevalla to Kragerø at about 12 knots when the collision occurred shortly before 21:30 local time on July 28 near the island of Katten. The cargo ship overtook the rear of two recreational boats proceeding more slowly on broadly the same course, then passed the other at close range a few minutes later.
The Swedish Accident Investigation Authority said in its August 24 status report that both recreational boats had appeared on the cargo ship’s radar before the collision. No one on the ship’s bridge or on either recreational boat noticed the others in time to take avoiding action.
The authority said its safety investigation will examine bridge-work allocation, visibility in approaching dusk and rain, vessel design, applicable rules, and the rescue response.