The trial of two ferry workers accused of manslaughter following a collision with a Jersey fishing boat opened this afternoon, with prosecutors describing an alleged “litany of serious failings”.
Lewis Carr and Artur Sevash-Zade, who were working on the Commodore Goodwill, have pleaded not guilty to three counts of manslaughter and one count of conduct endangering ships, structures or individuals under the Shipping (Jersey) Law 2022 in relation to the sinking of the L’Ecume II trawler.
The collision claimed the lives of three people: skipper Michael Michieli, and crew members Larry Ladion Simyunn and Jervis Ramirez Baligat.
The jury were sworn in in the Royal Court this morning, while Crown Advocate Matthew Maletroit, opened the trial for the prosecution this afternoon.
He said Mr Carr and Mr Zevash-Zade’s actions on board the Commodore Goodwill were “negligent”.
There is no dispute, he said, that the two Commodore Goodwill and L’Ecume II had collided on 8 December 2022, nor that the collision had caused the deaths of all three men on board the trawler.
He described how the crew of L’Ecume II set out at 4.15 that morning to spend two or three days at sea in conditions that were good for the season.
“Nobody would have predicted that L’Ecume II was taking her final voyage,” he said.
The pair’s alleged failings included a failure to maintain a proper lookout, a failure to monitor L’Ecume II’s position once they had sighted her on the path of the Goodwill, a failure to assess the risk of a collision, a failure to act or communicate as a bridge team, and a failure to take effective action to avoid a collision with L’Ecume II.
These were, he said, “a litany of serious failings, the cumulative effect of which was severe and ultimately, fatal”.
Rather than maintaining focus on the current voyage, Advocate Maletroit said the pair who formed the bridge crew were making “non-urgent” preparations for their arrival in St Helier.
He added: “The collision should never have occurred in the circumstances that we will hear about.”
Advocates Simon Thomas is defending Mr Carr and Advocatre Mike Preston is defending Mr Sevash-Zade.
The jury trial is scheduled to last several weeks. It is taking place at the government building in the Parade.
Commissioner Sir John Saunders is presiding. The trial continues tomorrow.
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