Sentences have been issued to the master and management company of a UK registered cargo vessel following a fatal collision off the south coast of Sweden that resulted in the deaths of two sailors.
At Southampton Crown Court on 14 February the Judge sentenced both the manager that which operated the cargo vessel and its Master, a 33 year old male, on the night of the incident. The Master was sentenced to eight months’ jail, suspended for 12 months, with £25,000 costs.
Sentencing, Judge Henry said that this was an accident waiting to happen. In addition, the judge fined the operating company £180,000 and ordered costs of £500,000. The prosecutions were brought by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), with assistance by authorities in Sweden and Denmark.
The case against the Master was that he had not taken safety action despite being aware that his Second Officer was failing to meet his duties as officer-of-the-watch on the bridge of the cargo ship.
Ahead of the collision, the Second Officer was alone and had consumed alcohol while chatting to people online on his tablet computer. Navigation alarms were switched off and he was unaware the ship was gaining on the split hopper barge. The two crew members on the split hopper barge lost their lives when it was struck by the cargo vessel and capsized in the Bornholmsgattet strait during the early hours of 13 December 2021.
The Master pleaded guilty to failing to operate a ship in accordance with the safety management system, under Regulation 7 of the Merchant Shipping (International Safety Management Code) Regulations 2014.
The MCA’s case against the operating company was that it had previously been made aware of officers-of-the-watch undertaking their duty alone on some of its ships – against regulations and guidance – but had failed to take preventative action.
The company was found guilty at a four-week trial at Southampton Crown Court of failing to operate a ship safely, under Section 100 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.
The failure to provide lookouts was the undoubtedly the single biggest failure, but the failure properly to oversee and enforce bridge discipline amongst the crew introduced additional distractions from the safe operation of the vessel which aligned to create the hole in the model and led directly to the collision.
…said Judge Henry.
