Swedish court ‘orders detention’ of British man after deadly ship collision

The collision between two ships left one crew member of a Danish barge dead and another missing

Divers work on the capsized Danish cargo ship Karin Hoej, right, after it collided with British cargo vessel Scot Carrier in Sweden, on 13 December, 2021 (AP)

A Swedish court has ordered a British crew member of the ship Scot Carrier to be remanded in custody on Thursday, following a collision earlier this week that left one crew member of a Danish barge dead and another missing, Sweden’s TT Newsagency reported.

The court detained him on suspicion of causing death through negligence, maritime drunkenness, and negligence in maritime traffic.

The suspect only admitted one count of negligence in maritime traffic, and denied all the others, according to TT.

Neither the prosecutor nor the suspect’s defence lawyer could be immediately reached.

At least one person, a Danish crew member from the 55-metre barge Karin Hoj, died in the collision with the 90-metre Scot Carrier, which occurred in fog and darkness off the Danish island of Bornholm in the early hours of Monday.

The court ordered him detained on the highest level of suspicion in the Swedish legal system, as the prosecutor had requested.

The Swedish Coast Guard said on Thursday that it planned to salvage the ship on Friday after it is towed to Denmark.

The waters between Sweden and Denmark are busy with maritime traffic. Collisions are rare, although in 2006 a small Danish vessel sank after a collision with a Swedish vessel, and all the crew were rescued alive.

Reuters