British seaman, 30, ‘who was drunk’ when his cargo ship smashed into a Danish vessel off Sweden killing two sailors is sentenced to 18 months in jail in Denmark
- Two crew members of the Danish-flagged Karin Hoj were killed in December
- Freighter collided with British Scot Carrier in the Baltic Sea off southern Sweden
- It began to take on water and capsized immediately, officials said at the time
- A British sailor who was drunk on his watch was jailed for 18 months in Denmark
A British sailor ‘who was drunk’ when his cargo ship smashed into a Danish boat near Sweden, killing two sailors, was jailed today in Denmark.
A Danish court on Thursday sentenced the British seaman to 18 months in prison for his role in a fatal collision between his cargo ship and a Danish fishing vessel in the Baltic Sea.
Two crew members of the 180ft Danish-flagged Karin Hoj perished on December 13, 2021, after their freighter collided with the 295ft Scot Carrier British Scot Carrier in the Baltic Sea off southern Sweden and capsized, without sinking.
Officials said the ‘particularly aggravating’ factor in the crash was that the suspect was drunk on his watch.
‘A 30-year-old British man, who was the officer in charge on the MV Scot Carrier, was today sentenced to one and a half years in prison by the Copenhagen district court for his role in a ship collision that claimed the lives of two Danish sailors,’ the prosecution said in a statement.
Danish authorities on Tuesday charged a 30-year-old British seaman with negligent manslaughter over a fatal cargo ship collision last year that killed two people. Pictured: Divers work on the capsized Danish cargo ship Karin Hoej which collided with the British cargo ship Scot Carrier on December 13, 2021
The British cargo ship Scot Carrier (pictured) is seen with damages to the bow in December. Officials said the ‘particularly aggravating’ factor in the crash was that the British suspect – who have not been named – was allegedly drunk on his watch
The British seaman, who has not been named, was the duty mate on the much larger 295 ft Scot Carrier, according to Danish authorities
Two crew members of the 180ft Danish-flagged Karin Hoj (pictured capsized) were killed after the freighter collided on December 13 with the British Scot Carrier in the Baltic Sea off southern Sweden and capsized, without sinking
Rescue workers work aboard the Danish cargo ship Karin Hoej which collided with the British cargo ship Scot Carrier between Ystad and Bornholm, on the Baltic Sea December 13, 2021
The man, who was found to have been drunk while keeping watch at the time of the incident, did not contest the charges.
He was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and will be deported from Denmark after serving his sentence.
He was also banned from sailing in Danish waters.
The accident occurred at night in the Baltic Sea, between the port of Ystad in southern Sweden and the Danish island of Bornholm.
A search operation by air and sea eventually located one body. The second remains missing, according to Danish reports.
Rescuers said in December that the Scot’s crew admitted they ‘may have hit something’ before trying to sail away from the scene and had to be stopped from leaving, Swedish news outlet Expressen reported at the time.
Ship tracking data showed the Scot did sail away from the crash site, before turning back along a meandering course and coming to a stop. The Karin was carrying no cargo at the time of the accident.
The Danish cargo ship Karin Hoej is pictured (right) after it collided in the British cargo ship Scot Carrier in the Baltic sea between the Swedish city of Ystad and the Danish island Bornholm early morning 13 December 2021. A rescue plane is seen in the skies above
Both vessels were sailing in the same direction – east to west – through the 25-mile gap between Sweden’s southern tip and Bornholm island when they crashed on Monday, Dec. 13
Karin Hoej, built in 1977, was on its way from Sodertalje, just south of the Swedish capital Stockholm, to Nykobing Falster in southern Denmark
The Scot Carrier, registered in Inverness and built in 2018, was en-route from Salacgriva in northern Latvia to Montrose in Scotland when it crashed.
Karin Hoej, built in 1977, was on its way from Sodertalje, just south of the Swedish capital Stockholm, to Nykobing Falster in southern Denmark.
Both vessels were sailing in the same direction – east to west – through the 25-mile gap between Sweden’s southern tip and Bornholm island when the crash happened.
The Scot caused a large hole in the side of the Karin, and caused it to take on water.
The smaller vessel capsized ‘almost immediately’, the head of Sweden’s maritime rescue agency said at the time, with rescuers reporting ‘screams’ in the water around the Karin at roughly 4.45am.
A huge rescue operation was launched, involving 10 boats from Sweden’s Sea Rescue and the Coast Guard, as well as planes and helicopters.
Pictures at the time showed emergency responders standing on the copper-coloured up-turned hull of the Karin as they carried out a search operation.
On the day of the crash, the search was called off after seven hours when no sign of the men was found, before divers discovered the body of one man in the ship’s hull.
The other is still missing but on May 5 Copenhagen Police officially announced that both were now considered dead.
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