What shall we do with a drunken sailor? Jail him
A drunk ship’s captain was sentenced Friday to 12 months in prison by a U.K. court after his vessel sunk about 24 miles off Skegness following a collision with an unmanned gas platform.
On Aug. 3, Capt. Zbigniew Krakowski was on watch of the 1,922 gross ton coaster Jork en route from Germany to the Humber with a cargo of grain, when it hit the gas platform in the Viking field.
The Antigua and Barbuda-registered ship sank the following day. All of the crew were rescued and taken ashore by helicopter. Krakowski was then breathalyzed by police and found to be about three times over the legal limit.
Krakowski pleaded guilty in Lincoln Crown Court to one charge brought under the Railway and Transport Safety Act 2004 for being over the alcohol limits and to another charge brought under the Petroleum Act 1974 for breaching the 500 meter zone around the gas platform. He was sentenced to six months for the former and 12 months for the latter, to run concurrently.
