Drunken Yacht Skipper Arrested Twice for Endangering Shipping in Rostock

 

Last week, a local yacht skipper landed in trouble with police in Rostock for drunk boating and endangering marine traffic - twice. 

On Wednesday, the skipper ran his eight-meter sailboat into a pier in Rostock's harbor. The pier happened to be near a turning point for ferry traffic, and the casualty - while minor in itself - forced the ferry Skane to halt a planned turn, according to VesselTracker. For any merchant vessel, this can become a dangerous situation: if an unexpected obstacle forces the pilot and master to deviate from the passage plan, the other alternatives may be less than ideal. 

The yacht sustained minor damage in the allision with the pier, but no water ingress. The state water police administered a breathalyzer test to the skipper upon responding to the scene. The 54-year-old man had a blood alcohol level of about 0.3 percent (BAC), consistent with severe intoxication, and the police filed charges against him for endangering shipping. 

While that investigation got under way, the man was released and allowed to return to his yacht. Two days later, his boat was spotted adrift in Dierkow Bay, headed for shore and apparently not under command. According to local outlet Focus, good Samaritans woke the man up by shouting and helped to secure the boat. 

Once again, police administered a breathalyzer test, and this time the skipper's blood alcohol level measured about 0.1 percent (BAC) - lower than before, but still well in excess of Germany's drunk-driving limits for motor vehicles. The run-in earned the man a second charge of endangering shipping traffic.