[BITList] Drunk Captain

[michael J Feltham]

Captain had week to prepare for berthing, 'should have been sober', harbourmaster says



A captain charged after allegedly trying to berth his ship while drunk had been sitting off the coast for nearly a week, waiting to come ashore. The 53-year-old captain of the SHANSI a 40,000 tonne logging ship, was charged following the incident at Northport, near Whangarei, on Friday. Police were called in to help after a pilot helping to dock the ship suspected the captain to be under the influence of alcohol. Northland regional harbormaster Jim Lyle said the pilot "noticed that all was not okay and there was a problem that could affect the safety of the ship". The pilot reported the problem to Lyle, who contacted Maritime New Zealand. The captain – an Englishman from Devon – blew an "exceptionally" high reading when breath tested by police. The limit for a seafarer is 250 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. Any higher readings can incur a 12 month term of imprisonment or a $10,000 fine. The captain appeared in the Whangarei District Court on Saturday and was remanded on bail.

Lyle said the Shansi had been at anchor, waiting to berth, for nearly a week before the incident. That was "quite a long time" to wait, but it depended on availability at the port, he said. "Whilst the ship had been waiting for a week, the ship was told it was due to come into Northport on Friday, so the captain should have been sober." A crew was on board but the ship was empty. It was due to come into port to load some cargo, Lyle said Spokespeople from Maritime New Zealand, Northport and the Whangarei police all said they could not go into any further detail about the matter while it was before the courts. The SHANSI is owned by The China Navigation Company Limited, also known as Swire Shipping. It is a merchant shipping company based in Singapore. A company spokesman said its regulations prohibited any seafarer from "navigating or operating any ship's equipment under the influence of alcohol". The spokesman also would not comment further while the matter was before the courts. Source : Stuff 
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