Condor crew member accused of manslaughter gives evidence in court

One of the two Condor crew members accused of manslaughter in the collision with the L’Ecume II fishing trawler has started giving his account of the incident in the Royal Court, as the trial enters its third week.

Lewis Carr (30) was a second officer on the Commodore Goodwill. He was officer of the watch at the time of the collision with L’Ecume II, which made him the most senior person on the bridge.

His co-accused Artur Sevash-Zade (35) had the rank of able seaman and was acting as the lookout.

The collision, on 8 December 2022, killed all three L’Ecume II crew members: Michael Michieli (62), Larry Simyunn (33) and Jervis Baligat (31).

Mr Carr told the Royal Court this morning how the job at Condor was his first permanent role as officer, after years of training as a deck cadet and at maritime college, followed by agency work.

He said he had wanted to work on ships since sixth form, having seen a friend go through college to become a marine engineer.

“I knew I always wanted to do something that was sort of out of the norm… that wasn’t your normal nine-to-five,” he said.

The second officers had started trialling a new shift pattern in the week of the collision, he said. He would be onboard for two weeks at a time, together with one other second officer.

Previously, Mr Carr would work from 02:00 to 10:00, rest for four hours, and work again from 14:00 until 18:00.

“It was very tiring, exhausting. None of the officers liked that shift,” he said.

“All four officers agreed that the hours were exhausting and one of the four officers brought up this idea of ‘rolling eights’.

“I think by that point everybody was ready for a change. Anything that could make the working hours a bit more bearable for doing the job.”

Officers then shifted to alternating shifts – with three eight-hour shifts from 01:00 to 09:00, from 09:00 to 17:00, or from 17:00 to 01:00.

“Every day, you were working opposite hours to the day before,” explained Mr Carr.

“At the time, all the officers were ready to try new hours, were open to the idea.

“But on reflection, the hours were still no better than the hours before, just from what I’ve learnt about the body’s natural circadian rhythm. You need the same hours every day.”

Asked whether he was conscious of feeling tired at the time, he said: “I think at the time, you just got on with your job.

“I wouldn’t say I was consciously tired at the time.”

Mr Carr added that, if he had felt “exhausted”, he would have made someone aware of it.

The jury trial – now in its third week – is scheduled to last four weeks.

Commissioner Sir John Saunders is presiding.