Sweden Arrests Cargo Ship Captain After Deaths in Pleasure Boat Collision
Swedish prosecutors confirmed that they have taken the captain of a Norwegian cargo ship into custody after an accident on Tuesday night that killed a mother and her young daughter and injured the father and his son. The Norwegian-flagged vessel Misje Verde (5,300 dwt) is believed to have run down a pleasure boat off the west coast of Sweden.
The cargo ship, which was built in 2023, was traveling from Uddevalla, Sweden, to Kragero, Norway, on Tuesday night, July 28. The vessel is 90 meters (295 feet) with an ice-class hull. It was traveling north of Gothenburg, Sweden, when it collided with a small pleasure boat in the Kattegat.
Another pleasure boater in the area responded to the screams and reported the incident to the Swedish authorities. The Swedish Coast Guard and the Swedish Sea Rescue Society responded to the location off Tjörn on the Skagerrak. The recreational boater rescued a man and his young son from the water, and they were later transferred to the Coast Guard boat and taken to a hospital for their injuries.
A woman and her young daughter were reported missing. An extensive search failed to find them on Tuesday night. It resumed on Wednesday, and in the afternoon, the wreck of the recreational boat was located along with the body of the woman. The body of the child was found on Thursday.
An extensive search was conducted looking for the missing woman and her daughter (Swedish Sea Rescue Society)
The Coast Guard and police from Gothenburg boarded the Misje Verde early Wednesday morning and began interviewing the crew. They left the vessel several hours later but had reportedly also downloaded the data from the VDR, i.e. Black Box.
The ship was initially detained and continues to be anchored in Hakenfjorden, but according to media reports, the detention ended. The shipping company Misje reports there are seven crewmembers, including the captain, aboard, and that they are all Russians.
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Prosecutors said that they had decided to take the captain into custody on a suspicion related to negligence in marine traffic and causing the death of the mother and daughter. Prosecutors believed there was a flight risk because the captain is a resident outside the Nordic countries and the EU. They also said there was a danger of undue influence on the criminal investigation, for example, with witnesses.
Under Swedish law, the prosecutors have until noon on Sunday, August 2, to decide if they will arrest and charge the captain. He will either be remanded into custody or released.
