Following the collision of two cargo ships in the Baltic Sea off the Swedish coast, Swedish and Danish authorities arrested two crew members.
Namely, crewmembers onboard the British-bound cargo ship involved in the collision, tested positive for drugs and alcohol, the vessel’s owner confirmed.
To remind, Inverness-registered ship called Scot Carrier collided with Danish boat Karin Hoej in the Baltic Sea off the Swedish coast. A distress call was made at about 3.30am local time (02:30 GMT) on Monday after the boats crashed at sea.
1 body found another person missing after 2 cargo ships collided in the Baltic Sea off the Swedish coast, causing one to overturn.
Rescuers searched for hrs for missing crew of capsized Danish boat Karin Hoej.
Inquiry into gross negligence at sea involving UK-flagged Scot Carrier pic.twitter.com/sFCdGHETmK— Rita Rosenfeld (@rheytah) December 13, 2021
Swedish authorities carried out a major search involving a helicopter and ships and found one body aboard the smaller Danish boat, which capsized in the collision. One of Karin Hoej’s crew remains missing at sea.
In light of the situation, the Swedish Prosecution Service (SPS) said two people, a British and a Croatian citizen, have been arrested on potential charges of causing the death of another person, gross negligence in maritime traffic and “gross sea drunkenness”.
A spokesperson for Scotline Marine Holdings Limited said: “In line with standard procedures, all crew members of the Scot Carrier were tested for drugs and alcohol with two crew members exceeding the legal limit.
“Scot Marine Holdings confirm that they have a strict drug and alcohol policy in place and have a zero-tolerance for any breaches that occur.”
At the moment, the cause of the collision is unclear, and prosecutors are in the early stages of their investigation into what happened. According to reports, the boats were travelling in foggy conditions with poor visibility.
For the records, the Karin Hoej was heading to Nykobing Falster in southern Denmark after leaving Sodertalje, near Stockholm, in Sweden on Saturday. It was not carrying any cargo at the time of the incident.
