Convicted Master in Mobile, AL Marine Accident Sentenced to Time Already Served and Set Free

The closely watched sentencing hearing of a convicted Ship Master ended yesterday with the German national being sentenced to time already served. Captain Wolfgang Shroder, found guilty of causing the death of Mobile, Alabama dock worker in October, was ordered set free and told to leave the country within 72 hours, or face deportation. The October verdict issued by a Mobile federal jury said that Captain Wolfgang Schroder should be held liable for the errors in judgment that led to the March 2nd allision between the ZIM Mexico III and the Alabama state docks last year.

The case had potentially far reaching implications for mariners everywhere. In the wake of the guilty verdict, Mariners from around the world worried that the case could set a precedent and thereby widen the scope of what can be considered to be not just an error in judgment, but a criminal offense. Schroder was in command of the 534-foot ZIM Mexico III when it departed the port of Mobile last March.

The February 7th sentencing hearing was watched closely by mariners from around the world. The Assistant U.S. Attorney had pushed for the maximum penalty of a 10 to 16 month prison term, but the judge ignored those recommendations and set Shroder free. He was expected to leave the country as soon as possible.

A groundswell of support for Schroder from other mariners had been slowly building in his support, led in the United States by the Council of American Master Mariners (CAMM). CAMM, partially in response to the issue, changed the focus of their annual general meeting to “Criminalization of Masters.” CAMM’s annual general meeting will take place in Ponce, PR in April. In the United Kingdom, the International Federation of Ship Masters' Associations also expressed concerns over the course of events in the United States, in the lead up to yesterday's sentencing hearing.

When Shroder’s vessel made contact with a gantry crane while maneuvering in the Port of Mobile, the crane collapsed, causing the death of an electrician in the port. The details of the case are many, but prosecutors reportedly centered on the condition of a bow thruster, which failed during the vessel’s turning evolution. Evidence given to the jury indicated that the thruster had also failed on other occasions and that the Master was fully aware of these circumstances.

BIMCO, an International shipping trade organization, has conducted many investigations into the criminalization of seafarers. In a March 2006 posting on their WEB site, they “identified 44 cases that were evaluated for the purpose of the study. These cases took place between 1996 and 2006. Of these cases, nine involved the detainment of seafarers prior to them being found guilty of committing a deliberate act or act of negligence. The majority of cases involved detainment or punishment after the allegations had been proven. There were 28 such cases identified.”

In Schroder’s case, he was, up until this incident, widely considered a more-than-competent seaman, with letters of commendation for acts of heroism in a 1987 incident, where he assisted and helped save numerous survivors from a capsized ferry. A German maritime company has since paid a $375,000 fine to US authorities under the terms of a plea agreement in the case.