The collision occurred in poor weather on the evening of July 28 off the Bohuslän coast. The Norwegian cargo ship Misje Verde struck a recreational boat about 7–8 metres long. A Swedish couple in their 40s and their two children were aboard. The father and son escaped and were rescued by nearby boaters; the mother and daughter died.
Prosecutors say the Russian captain and Swedish pilot were on the Misje Verde’s bridge when the crash happened. They are charged with negligent manslaughter, negligent navigation and negligent bodily harm. Sweden’s Accident Investigation Authority concluded that the small boat was visible on the cargo ship’s radar.
The father told the court he did not hear the cargo ship until it was immediately behind them. He saw its bulbous bow only metres away and tried to turn hard to starboard, but said the recreational boat was drawn beneath the ship. After it rolled, everything went dark. He escaped and swam toward life jackets he spotted at the surface: one was on his son, while the other was empty.
The captain and pilot blamed each other in court. The captain said he considered the pilot responsible for the accident, while accepting overall responsibility himself. The pilot described a series of very unfortunate circumstances and said the captain had misunderstood his role as the officer of the watch. According to the report, the captain had left the bridge to handle paperwork shortly before the collision.
The ship had previously faced criticism over poor visibility from its bridge. Misje Verde is owned by Norway’s Misje Rederi and was sailing from Uddevalla to Kragerø when the crash occurred. At the time Aftenposten published its report, the ruling was scheduled for 11:00 at Gothenburg District Court.