The prosecutor in the case of the maritime accident involving cargo ship Misje Verde (IMO 9927433) on July 28th off Tjörn island, Sweden, requested on August 13th that the detention of the master, a Russian national, be extended. The prosecutor said that suspicions of criminality remained in the cases of both the master and the pilot, a Swede, remained. The prosecutor initially had until August 14th to press charges (IMN August 7th). Now senior prosecutor James von Reis has requested that the indictment deadline be extended to August 28th, promising that another 14 days would be enough to complete the police investigation. Swedish prosecutors have charged the pilot who was aboard cargo ship Misje Verde for his role in the incident in which the cargo ship ran over a pleasure boat and killed two people while overtaking the small boat. The captain was being held in jail due to being perceived as a flight risk. The pilot worked with the Swedish Maritime Administration. He was assigned to the 5,300-dwt vessel on the night of July 28th for its navigation along the west coast of Sweden. The ship, which was bound for Norway, was required to have a pilot aboard. Prosecutors are looking at the roles of the master and pilot, who were the only two people on the bridge at the time of the incident. The 90-metre cargo ship was moving at a quicker speed and overtaking a small recreational boat, which had a man and woman aboard with two young children. The prosecutor said on August 4th that “during the preliminary investigation, it has emerged that the pilot had such an active role on the vessel’s bridge during the voyage that the pilot is reasonably suspected of having been an accomplice to the accident”. The prosecution has determined that his actions had risen to the level of “reasonable suspicion” (the lowest level under Swedish law) and that he could be liable for negligence in maritime traffic and causing the death of another person. The pilot has denied the charges.
The Seko union has criticized the Norwegian shipping company Misje and believed that there were too few people on board the ship. Inspector Håkan André believed that it was unreasonable that there were only seven crew members on board.
2023, Norway (NIS) flagged, 3,492 gt Misje Verde is owned by Misje Ecobulk AS care of manager Misje Rederi AS of Bergen, Norway. It is entered with Gard P&I on behalf of Misje Ecobulk AS.