Cargo ship captain charged with drunk sailing after grounding in Denmark

Danish authorities have charged the captain of a Dutch-flagged cargo ship with sailing under the influence of alcohol after his vessel ran aground in Spodsbjerg.

The incident involving the 84- by 11-metre Eems Carrier occurred at around 21:35 local time on Thursday, February 21, when the ship ran aground on Langeland Island.

The crew managed to float the vessel out from being stuck and later dropped anchor after being ordered to do so by port authorities.

The port authorities and local police officials suspected that Eems Carrier’s captain was drunk based on his responses over the radio.

The captain, who has been identified as a 49-year-old Russian national, was taken in for questioning on the morning of the following day.

The police, with the help of an interpreter, determined that the captain had indeed consumed alcohol above the legal limit just prior to the grounding. However, officials have admitted that analysis of the captain’s blood sample was not yet available for them to determine the approximate amount of alcohol consumed.

The captain has been charged with violation of the provisions of the Maritime Act pertaining to alcohol consumption while at sea though no details on the subsequent court proceedings have yet been provided.

Meanwhile, Eems Carrier was allowed to leave port at 14:45 local time on Saturday, February 23, and sail to its final destination of Liepaja, Latvia, with an ETA of 16:00 local time on February 25.