# Allegedly drunk crew run ship aground



## rushie (Jul 5, 2005)

From the Baltic Times - 

_Drunk crewmembers have been blamed for running a ship aground off Latvia’s north-western coast on Jan 21.
Latvia's naval coast guard service head Hermanis Cernovs told LNT television that five of the nine crewmembers of the Malta-registered ship were under the influence, including the captain.
"The weather conditions were good at the time, therefore the main reason of the accident is negligence of the crew," said Cernovs.
The small cargo ship Nijord ran aground at about 11 pm on Jan 21. The ship was carrying no cargo and had a small amount of fuel which did not leak. Nobody was injured in the accident.
Before the accident the crew of the ship had been warned to change course, but did not react to warnings and radio messages.
Currently representatives of the coast guard service, border guard and police are on the ship, A tug-boat has also been sent to the place of the accident to tow the ship away.
Latvian Interior Minister Ivars Godmanis voiced his indignation on the second accident on the sea in the past days. He said in an interview to LNT on Monday morning that "it is dangerous to let these seamen out of the country".
Godmanis underscored that sailing the ship under the influence of alcohol must be criminally punished. In minister's words, if a person had been caught driving a car under such an influence, he would be arrested for 10 days and deprived of the driver's license for two years._

Rushie


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## Thamesphil (Jul 22, 2005)

Different version of events from Tradewinds:

The operators of a Maltese-flagged vessel which grounded off Latvia on Sunday night have said reports that the captain and several crew members were drunk at the time of the incident are premature. 

Latvian news sources have said that blood samples taken from six of the 10 men onboard the 4,028-dwt multi-purpose vessel Nijord (built 1980) showed that they were under the influence of alcohol when the ship grounded on a sandbank in the Irbe Straits. 

The ship was in ballast en route to Riga from France when the incident occurred at around 23:00 on Sunday in weather conditions described as relatively calm. 

According to reports in local newspapers the ship failed to respond to warnings and demands to change course and there were no replies to radioed messages before the ship ran aground. 


Speaking to TradeWinds on Monday Vjacheeslav Kostjukovich, technical director of Riga-based operators and managers Aquarius Shipmanagement, said reports that the master and crew were drunk constitute “unofficial information”. 


“There are no official reports from Ventspils, the nearest port”, that alcohol had any part to play in the incident, Kostjukovich said. 


Kostjukovich has been in contact with the Russian master who contends that he had a stomach complaint for which he took some medication. He was taken to a Latvian hospital but has since been released and is due to return to the vessel to join the eight crew who have remained onboard. 


Meanwhile attempts to re-float the ship have been unsuccessful and the vessel has now run out of fuel. Kostjukovich said the engine is still working and there has been no pollution as a result of the grounding. However, it is too early to tell if there has been any structural damage to the ship while none of the crew members were injured. 

The Nijord is classed by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping


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## non descript (Nov 18, 2005)

Maybe time for careful edit of the title to include that very useful word "allegedly" ...


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## rushie (Jul 5, 2005)

Fairplay Tonga.....but if the [IBaltic Times[/COLOR][/I]is as astute in detail as our beloved _The Sun_....then there's nothing to worry about....!!


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## non descript (Nov 18, 2005)

rushie said:


> Fairplay Tonga.....but if the [IBaltic Times[/COLOR][/I]is as astute in detail as our beloved _The Sun_....then there's nothing to worry about....!!


Totaly agree Rushie, I actually forgot to put in the all important (Jester) .. my apologies.


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