Drunken sailors may have caused deadly Baltic Sea collision
Two crew members of a British cargo ship that collided with a Danish ship in the Baltic Sea were revealed to have been drunk when the incident, which led to at least one fatality, occurred.
The two ships collided in the Baltic Sea on Monday, resulting in at least one death from the Danish ship's crew and another person missing. The Danish ship – 'Karin Hoj' – capsized during the incident, while the British ship – the 'Scot Carrier' – and its crew were reported to have suffered no major injuries.
Though the exact cause of the collision has yet to be determined, two crew members from the 'Scot Carrier' were reportedly found to have exceeded the intoxication limit during tests by Swedish authorities.
Jonatan Tholin, the head of Sweden's investigation into the incident, said on Monday that “additional criminal suspicions have arisen, including gross sea drunkenness.” The owner of the 'Scot Carrier', Scotline Marine Holdings, also confirmed in a statement that two crew members had failed an alcohol test.
“In line with standard procedures, it is understood that all crew members of the 'Scot Carrier' were tested for drugs and alcohol with two crew members exceeding the legal limit,” Scotline Marine Holdings revealed, concluding that the company has “a strict drug and alcohol policy in place” and “a zero-tolerance for any breaches that occur.”
Sweden has a strict alcohol-intoxication limit of just 0.02% – significantly lower than the UK’s limit of 0.05%.
