Sweden Arrests Cargo Ship Captain on Charges of Causing Collision Death

Swedish prosecutors confirmed over the weekend that they had requested that the captain of a Norwegian cargo ship be arrested and detained on charges of having caused a death when the ship, the Misje Verde, ran down a small pleasure boat. They said the master had been on the bridge with a pilot when the cargo ship was overtaking the small pleasure boat, ran down the boat, and killed a mother and her daughter.

The investigation is still in its early stages, said prosecutors, but they asked the court to detain the captain, who is a Russian citizen. They said in a statement that they were concerned that because the captain is not a resident of Sweden, the Nordic countries, or the EU, there was a flight risk. They said there was also a danger of undue influence on important witnesses, due to the early stage of the investigation. The captain was taken into custody on Thursday night.

In making the court filing, they provided additional details on the incident that happened on July 28 off the West Coast of Sweden. They reported that data showed the 5,300-dwt containership had been sailing in the same direction as the 7 to 8 meter (23 to 26 foot) motorboat in the area south and west of Hakefjord. Because the motorboat was significantly slower, it was being overtaken by the 90-meter (295-foot) cargo ship, which would hit it hard in the stern.

The motorboat was sucked under the cargo ship and filled with water. It sank at a depth of 20 meters (nearly 66 feet). The father and a young son were able to get into the water and were rescued by another boater who had anchored for the night in the area. The woman and her daughter were missing. One was found the following day still in the boat, and the other body was recovered nearby.

Prosecutors report they are looking at the division of duty between the captain and the pilot, as well as weather conditions at the time of the incident. They are looking at whether the rules of the road were being obeyed, including having a constant and careful lookout, a requirement in good weather for the overtaking vessel to give way to the smaller vessel, and, if the weather was bad, a reduction in speed. Also, the ship would have been required to make a sound signal, and they believed there was no signal being sounded. The suspicion of negligence in maritime traffic, however, was not sufficient for the arrest in this case. 

Prosecutors have until August 14 to file the formal indictment against the captain.