Sailors in Baltic Sea crash ‘may not have been drunk by UK standards’

Having a blood alcohol level of 0.02 per cent on the sea is considered a criminal offence in Sweden

The two men on a British ship arrested for drunkenness after two freight ships collided in the Baltic sea may not have been drunk by British standards, the cargo company said.

The men were detained by Swedish authorities after their vessel collided with a Danish-registered barge, killing at least two people.

Inverness-registered Scot Carrier collided with the Danish ship Karin Hoej, south of Ystad in Sweden, close to the Danish island of Bornholm on Monday at about 2.30 am (GMT).

Following the collision, the Danish cargo ship capsized which prompted a major rescue mission, including a helicopter and ships.

The dead body of a member of the Danish crew was found inside the wreck, while the other man is presumed to have drowned.

The Swedish Prosecution Service (SPS) launched an investigation and arrested a Croatian and British citizen on potential charges of causing the death of another person. Authorities in a statement said preliminary investigation was underway into several suspected crimes of gross negligence in maritime traffic, causing death through negligence, and marine intoxication.

A spokesman for Scotline Marine Holdings Limited, which owns the Scot Carrier, told The Times that both the men may not have consumed a large amount of alcohol as the limit in Sweden was “very low”. “But we don’t know that, so we’re not making any excuses at all,” the person said.

Having a blood alcohol level of 0.02 per cent or more on the sea is considered a criminal offence in Sweden, wears the limit is four times higher in England and Wales at 0.08 per cent.

In an earlier statement, the company said: “In line with standard procedures, all crew members of the Scot Carrier were tested for drugs and alcohol with two crew members exceeding the legal limit. Scot Marine Holdings confirm that they have a strict drug and alcohol policy in place and have a zero-tolerance for any breaches that occur.”

The SPS confirmed the cause of the collision is unclear, and prosecutors are in the early stages of their investigation into what happened.

According to the website MarineTraffic, Scot Carrier was travelling from Salacgriva in Latvia to Montrose in Scotland, while the Karin Hoej had left Sodertalje in Sweden for Nykoebing Falster in Denmark.