The watchkeeping officer on the grounded bulk carrier Ali Aykin has been charged with gross negligence in maritime traffic.
According to the indictment, he has operated the vessel in darkness without a functioning echo sounder, and without "presence or support from either a lookout or the vessel's master" while using a mobile phone.
The man, who is a foreign citizen, denies the crime, reports SVT Skåne.
It was on May 25 that the bulk carrier Ali Aykin ran aground off Klagshamn south of Malmö. The foreign-flagged vessel was on its way from Gdansk in Poland to Setúbal in Portugal, loaded with scrap. On board were also 69,000 liters of diesel oil. In early June, the vessel was salvaged to the port of Malmö.
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