Sweden Charges Pilot and Cargo Ship Master Over Fatal Collision
Prosecutors say the pilot took an unusually active role in navigating the Misje Verde
Swedish prosecutors confirmed on August 28 that they are proceeding against the master of the Norwegian cargo ship Misje Verde and the Swedish pilot who was aboard on July 28, when the vessel ran down a small pleasure boat off Tjorn on the country's west coast.
Each faces charges of causing the death of a mother and her daughter aboard the pleasure boat, causing bodily injury to the father and son, and negligence in maritime traffic. Senior Prosecutor James von Reis, who is leading the preliminary investigation, said it is unusual for a pilot to be prosecuted for having been involved in a maritime accident involving the piloted vessel. In this case, he said, the police investigation revealed that the pilot took a very active role in the vessel's operation and accepted that the master was doing other things on the bridge than those related to operation.
The 5,310 dwt cargo ship was bound for Norway and was required to carry a pilot. While overtaking the pleasure boat at night, it struck the smaller vessel on the stern and continued, stopping only when instructed to do so by the Coast Guard. The father and son were thrown clear and were picked up by another pleasure boat. The bodies of the mother and daughter were recovered along with the wreck.
The master, a Russian citizen, was detained shortly after the accident on concerns that he could leave the country or interfere with the investigation. Charges against the pilot, the only other person on the bridge, were added later. "It is reasonable that the pilot's responsibility for the accident should also be examined by a court," von Reis said.
Prosecutors reviewed AIS and GPS target tracks from the vessels involved and gained early access to the cargo ship's voyage data recorder, which they say established what was visible on the bridge radar displays in real time and what was said between master and pilot. They assert the pleasure boat was clearly visible as a radar echo and that both defendants missed it. Under the applicable traffic rules the overtaking vessel had an obligation to give way.
The two deny any crime. The main hearing is scheduled to begin on September 10. Prosecutions arising from pilotage are rare, and the case is being followed closely by pilot organisations in the Nordic countries.
