Drunk Officer Arrested After Cargo Ship Wrecks Sailboat in Danish Port

An officer suspected of being drunk steered a general cargo ship into a moored sailboat and the quay wall at Korsør Harbour in Denmark, wrecking the sailboat and flattening three lampposts on the evening of 8 June.

The 104-metre Olymp Trader had arrived at the western Zealand port from Wismar, Germany, when it lost control during its berthing manoeuvre at around 8 pm. The Antigua and Barbuda-flagged ship struck a German-flagged sailboat tied up at the quay, then ran into the harbour pier, a stone block and three lampposts. A distress flare went off during the impact.

A German couple aboard the yacht, reported to be in their 70s, scrambled onto the quay as the ship bore down on them. They were unhurt. No one was injured in what one official described as a parking accident, but the sailboat was crushed.

Danish police arrested the vessel’s navigating officer, a 54-year-old Russian national, at the harbour that evening. He was charged with sailing under the influence.

“We have arrested the officer for having a blood-alcohol level over the permitted limit,” Kasper Skotte, a duty officer with South Zealand and Lolland-Falster Police, told regional broadcaster TV2 Øst. Officers took a blood sample and then released the man, who faces charges under the Danish Merchant Shipping Act.

No pilot was aboard at the time — unusual for a vessel struggling to enter a harbour.

The damage to the sailboat is estimated at more than €100,000. It belonged to the German couple, who had been on a cruising holiday in Danish waters.

The Danish Maritime Authority detained the Olymp Trader for a full inspection, and the Danish Maritime Accident Investigation Board has opened an inquiry.

Korsør sits on the Great Belt, one of the busiest approaches into the Baltic, and is also home to the Danish Maritime Authority’s headquarters.

Reference: TV2 Øst