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Captain of HADAG ferry sentenced to suspended imprisonment
In the trial concerning the collision of the 'Övelgönne' and the 'Hanse' on the Elbe River on Jan 20, the Hamburg District Court sentenced the captain of the ferry to six months' imprisonment, suspended. The defendant was convicted of negligent endangerment of shipping traffic in conjunction with negligent bodily harm in 19 cases. She was also ordered to pay a fine of 9,000 euros to the state treasury. The court found it proven that the captain failed to use the ship's radar as required while crossing the fairway, despite dense fog and the resulting limited visibility. As a result, the ship approached the pushed convoy with the right of way. Although she had radio contact with the captain of the 'Hanse', she allegedly failed to steer her ship to starboard in time. Although the captain of the "Hanse" radioed her, "Have you seen me?" and she replied, "Yes, I'll be back over in a minute," she did not change course, and the collision occurred. Of the 19 passengers, who suffered injuries, one was seriously injured and remains unable to work. The barge sustained approximately €6,500 in damage, while the Hadag ferry suffered €650,000 in damage. The presiding judge said it was fortunate that another captain happened to be among the passengers. He attended to the injured, distributed life jackets, and steered the ferry to the dock. If he hadn't been on board, it would have been even worse. The judge said he could not understand why the defendant had not confessed. A confession would have worked in her favour. A personal apology would also have been appropriate. The 48-year-old declined to comment and exercised her right to remain silent. She faces professional repercussions . An aggravating factor was that she had filed a criminal complaint against the captain of the "Hanse" and wanted to hold him responsible for the accident. That was an "outrage" and a sign of a lack of remorse. The public prosecutor had only requested a fine of 160 daily rates at €100 each. In her opinion, the defendant presumably didn't know how to operate the radar. This was also supported by witness statements in which the defendant allegedly said, "I didn't see that," and "I wish I'd had someone with me. I haven't been out in fog that often." The prosecutor also found the defendant lacking in insight and remorse. Her defense attorney had pleaded for acquittal. He argued there was no evidence whatsoever that his client hadn't operated the radar correctly. Furthermore, Rule 19 of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs) should have been applied in fog: According to this rule, the captain of the "Hanse" should have reduced the speed of his push convoy, the lawyer said. He hadn't done so, and therefore he should have been charged as well. The verdict is not yet legally binding. The defendant has one week to file an appeal.
Defense attorney filed a criminal complaint against the captain of the Hanse
In the trial concerning the collision of the 'Övelgönne' with the 'Hanse' on the Elbe River on Jan 20, the defense attorney for the accused captain of the HADAG ferry, Carsten Grau, has filed a criminal complaint against the captain of the other vessel on Nov 10, accusing him to have failed to adjust the speed despite the dense fog. According to Grau, he should have reduced his speed according to the collision avoidance regulations. Furthermore, the lookout was unmanned, even though there were three people on board. Therefore, the man was suspected of negligent endangerment of shipping. Grau also demanded a nautical report to determine whether the collision of the two ships could have been prevented if the speed had been reduced. He claimed that the investigation had been directed solely against his client from the outset.The public prosecutor's office has charged the 48 year old captain of the ferry with negligent endangerment of shipping traffic in conjunction with negligent bodily harm. The indictment states that the defendant, as the captain in charge, was sailing up the Northern Elbe with 27 passengers on board. While crossing the fairway, she allegedly failed to use the vessel's radar despite dense fog and the resulting limited visibility, as required by the applicable collision avoidance regulations. Subsequently, the ferry approached a pushed convoy consisting of a the 'Hanse' and a coupled barge, which had the right of way. Although the ferry operator was reportedly in radio contact with the captain of the 'Hanse' and had seen the convoy, she allegedly failed to steer her vessel to starboard in time. A collision occurred, resulting in injuries to 19 passengers, including cuts from glass shards, bruises, and hematomas. Three people suffered traumatic brain injuries or concussions. The barge sustained approximately €50,000 in damage. The public prosecutor emphasized that she saw no evidence of criminal conduct on the part of the captain of the 'Hanse'. According to an analysis of the radio transmissions, the captain allegedly said to the defendant before the collision: "Have you seen me?" The ferry operator then reportedly replied: "Yes, I'll pull right back over." Nevertheless, she did not change course, and the collision occurred. The captain of the 'Hanse' testified as a witness in the trial. Another police officer is scheduled to be questioned on Nov 12. The end date of the trial has not yet been set.
Hanse left Hamburg again
On Jan 20 at around noon the ferry 'Övelgönne' left the Dockland Pier and headed to Finkenwerder, where she berthed at the Cölln Shipyard for permanent repairs of the collision damage. The 'Hanse' left Hamburg on Jan 21 at 3.30 p.m. en route towards the Elbe Side Canal, which it entered on the morning of Jan 22. Report with photo: https://www.sylent-press.de/2025/01/21/nach-der-kollision-der-hadagfaehre-oevelgoenneliegt-sie-in-finkenwerder/
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