“This conclusion is just a joke”

“To be honest, I was shocked when I saw this decision,” says Arthur Bogason, chairman of the National Association of Small Boat Owners, about the decision in a case concerning the collision between the cargo ship Longdawn and the coastal fishing boat Hadda.

Given 12 and 8 months probation

The boat, Hadda, capsized on May 16 after a collision, but the research of navigational data indicated that the skip Longdawn had collided with the boat with the above-specified consequences.

Longdawn's captain instructed the 2nd mate to continue, even though the mate informed the captain of the collision and thought he had seen the boat sink.

The captain was sentenced to 12 months probation and was deprived of navigation rights for three months. The pilot was sentenced to 8 months' probation.

Speechless when he saw the result

“I would have thought that this would be considered a much greater punishment than it is,” Bogason says.

He says he was speechless when he saw the court decision because he expected it to be much more severe.

“As it looks to me, they know that the man is in the water and know that the boat is sinking and the captain decides, and obviously with the pilot’s consent, to leave it,” he says.

A very serious case

“I would have thought it was an attempted murder,” Bogason says.

He says the matter is gravely serious. “I have talked about this with my friends and they see it in the same way and they don’t understand anything this outcome,” he says.

“This conclusion is just a joke,” says Arthur.

Not unknown that small boats are sailed down

He says that it is not unknown in the world that small boats are sailed down by very large ships and that this happens every year to some degree.