The Captain dozed off with the ship on autopilot
Interrogation has shown that the captain of a 130-metre cargo ship that hit rocks in Messina at the weekend dozed off with the ship on autopilot.
Under interrogation by magistrates, the commander of the Hc Rubina – 41-year-old Ukrainian Sergy Kryvodud – said he only awoke when the vessel was too close to shore to avoid a collision.
The ship is grounded, yards from people’s homes, in the port’s Ganzirri district. Warnings from the coast guard, which detected the ship’s approach on Saturday night, were initially ignored. When Mr Kryvodud woke there was only time to slow the ship and reduce the impact. He is suspected by prosecutors of causing a shipwreck and violating marine law.
Source: The Indipendent
