Fewer things will increase your risk of being involved in a maritime accident faster than being drunk at the helm of the vessel. A freighter captain, who had been arrested earlier this year for drunkenness, has now been sentenced to 14 days in prison.
A Coast Guard inspection of the 20,000 ton freighter STX Daisy on April 14 found that the captain, Seong Ug Sin and another officer had drunk a large amount of alcohol. Seong Ug Sin was administered a breath test, and officers found that his blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legally allowed limit for someone in command of a vessel. This week, Seong Ug Sin was sentenced to 14 days in prison for being drunk on the job.
The US Attorney’s Office asked for an especially strict sentence for Seong Ug Sin because of the great potential for a maritime accident with a drunken captain on board. The weight of the STX Daisy is 20,736 gross ton. A vessel of this size and bulk being in charge of a captain too intoxicated to see straight, would have meant the perfect recipe for a maritime disaster.
The vessel was on a 205 mile-long journey, and would have passed through many high commercial shipping activity lanes. The vessel would also have been in close proximity to hundreds of recreational boats. Besides, the vessel was carrying large qualities of fuel. In case of a maritime accident, there would have been a serious risk of spillage and a maritime environmental disaster.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, due to all these reasons, the Office decided to call for stricter punishment for the captain.
The maritime attorneys at Maintenance and Cure represented injured maritime workers across Texas and in international waters.
