Danish boat involved in collision outside Sweden has begun to sink
STOCKHOLM, December 15 (Reuters) – A Danish ship involved in a collision off the Swedish coast that caused one crew member to die and another missing person has begun to take on water and may soon sink, the Swedish Coast Guard said on Wednesday.
At least one person, a Danish crew member from the 55-meter barge Karin Hoj, died in the collision with the 90-meter Scot Carrier, which occurred in fog and darkness off the Danish island of Bornholm early on Monday. Read more
Karin Hoj capsized after the collision but remained afloat and was towed to shallow water where it was searched. It has now started to take in more water and an unknown amount of oil has leaked from the barge.
Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to reuters.com
Register
“The sinking ship is not something we wanted but have been prepared for,” the Coast Guard said in a statement. “We are now working to limit oil spills.”
It added that the ship would still be rescued but that the process would take longer if it sank.
A Swedish prosecutor said earlier on Wednesday that a Croatian citizen and crew member from Scot Carrier had been released despite the fact that he is still under investigation in connection with the incident.
A British crew member, who was held over the collision on several counts, including causing death by negligence, is still in custody, prosecutor Tomas Olvmyr said in a statement.
A lawyer for the Croatian crew member said he welcomed the decision and denied any wrongdoing. The British citizen’s lawyer declined to comment.
The prosecutor said on Tuesday that both crew members were found after the collision to be above the legal limit for alcohol.
The collision triggered a major rescue operation, which led to the discovery of the dead body of one of the two Danish barge crew members in the ship’s hull. The other crew member is still missing.
Scotline, which owns Scot Carrier, said in a statement on Tuesday that the crew and the company cooperated fully with the investigation.
Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to reuters.com
Register
Reporting by Niklas Pollard and Johan Ahlander; Edited by Simon Johnson, Gareth Jones, Alexandra Hudson
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.