According to foreign media reports, prosecutors have expanded the criminal investigation into last month’s fatal collision between the Norwegian cargo ship “Misje Vilde” and a pleasure boat, naming the ship’s pilot as a criminal suspect along with the captain.
Swedish prosecutors announced on Thursday that the pilot, assigned through the compulsory pilotage service of the Swedish Maritime Administration, is being investigated on suspicion of negligent navigation causing the death of others, at the lower Swedish standard of “reasonable suspicion.” The pilot denies any wrongdoing.
This development comes days after a Swedish court ordered the foreign captain of the “Misje Vilde” to be detained on grounds of “reasonable suspicion” of causing the deaths of others. Prosecutors stated that the captain posed a flight risk and could interfere with the investigation. The deadline for prosecution has been set for August 14.
According to prosecutors, the “Misje Vilde” was under compulsory pilotage at the time of the July 28 incident. Under Swedish regulations, the pilot is expected to assist the captain in ensuring the safe navigation of the vessel. Investigators stated that the pilot’s level of involvement on the bridge was so significant that there are reasonable grounds to suspect he should also bear criminal responsibility.
Senior Prosecutor James von Reis said in a statement: “The captain and the pilot have provided largely consistent accounts regarding the division of duties on the bridge.”
Unlike the foreign captain, the pilot has not been detained because prosecutors determined there was no legal basis for pretrial detention.
According to the prosecution’s investigation, the collision occurred after the “Misje Vilde” overtook a 7-to-8-meter motorized leisure boat with a cabin in the Hake Fjord southwest of Gothenburg. Both vessels had been traveling south and west for some time, but the leisure boat was significantly slower.
Prosecutors stated that the cargo ship struck the smaller vessel from behind, effectively running over it. The leisure boat was dragged beneath the cargo ship, sank immediately after taking on water, and came to rest at a depth of approximately 20 meters between the islands of Kårön and Lövön.
There were four people on board. One adult and one child escaped from the sinking vessel and were rescued by leisure boats anchored near Kårön. Another adult and one child tragically lost their lives. Divers later recovered one of the victims from inside the wreck, while the other body was found on the seabed nearby.
The focus of the investigation is whether the bridge team complied with the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs).
At the time of the incident, only the captain and the pilot were on the bridge. Prosecutors stated that their respective responsibilities remain one of the core issues under investigation.
Authorities are investigating whether there were violations of Rule 5 (requiring the maintenance of a proper lookout) and Rule 13 (requiring the overtaking vessel to keep clear of the vessel being overtaken).
However, prosecutors noted that if heavy rain severely restricted visibility, Rule 19, which governs navigation in restricted visibility, should apply instead of Rule 13. Rule 19 requires, among other things, that vessels substantially reduce their speed. Authorities are also investigating whether Rule 35 was complied with, which requires vessels navigating in restricted visibility to sound fog signals every two minutes. Prosecutors stated that it has been confirmed no sound signals were made.
Investigators have now obtained data from the cargo ship’s voyage data recorder (VDR), or “black box,” and are currently analyzing it.
Prosecutors also stated that newly discovered images further confirm their initial assessment that the pleasure boat was effectively run over by the cargo vessel. Although physical damage might suggest a different angle of impact, they noted that this could be due to the powerful hydrodynamic forces generated by the large vessel traveling at high speed, and it does not affect their assessment of potential negligence.
Prosecutors stated that they currently do not suspect the operator of the pleasure boat of violating any applicable navigation rules. They also added that even if evidence later emerges indicating navigation violations, given the tremendous loss suffered by the operator in the incident, they would not bring criminal charges under Swedish procedural law.
The investigation is ongoing, and prosecutors stated that no further comments will be made until additional evidence analysis is completed.
Compiled and edited by Shipping Online
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