Lookout assigned other duties minutes before crash

Artur Sevash-Zade walks into Jersey Royal Court. He is wearing a black shirt. He has short black hair.
Image caption,

Artur Sevash-Zade said he was not worried when he left the bridge to carry out pre-arrival duties

  • Published

A crew member of a Condor ferry that collided with a fishing boat said he effectively stopped his lookout duties when he left the bridge minutes before the incident.

Artur Sevash-Zade and Lewis Carr both deny three counts of gross negligence manslaughter over the collision between the Commodore Goodwill and L'Ecume II on 8 December 2022.

L'Ecume II's skipper Michael Michieli and crew members Larry Simyunn and Jervis Baligat died in the collision.

Speaking through a Russian interpreter, Mr Sevash-Zade from Ukraine told Jersey's Royal Court he was assigned other duties by second officer Mr Carr on the bridge wings and believed his crewmate would keep a watch on L'Ecume II.

Mr Sevash-Zade said he was outside the bridge for about seven-and-a-half minutes in the build-up to the collision.

Before going to the bridge wings, he said the radar had shown both vessels were close to each other.

When asked by the prosecution if he considered if leaving the bridge was a safe thing to do given how close the Goodwill and L'Ecume II were, Mr Sevash-Zade said it was Mr Carr's job to safely navigate the course of the watch.

"Any instructions they would give to me are at their [Carr's] discretion," he added.

"When I started preparing the bridge wings, the situation did not envision being dangerous and I know that when an officer of the watch assigns me with some other tasks in accordance with STCW (International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers), they shall ensure looking out."

Lewis Carr walks towards Jersey's Royal Court. He is wearing a dark suit with a white shirt and dark tie. He has a neatly trimmed beard.
Image caption,

Artur Sevash-Zade said Lewis Carr (pictured) appeared to be in a state of shock following the collision

Mr Sevash-Zade told the court he knew if both vessels maintained their course and speed a collision would happen, but from previous experience he believed action would be taken to avoid the situation.

He was asked about whether he pointed out whether any action should be taken and if he was concerned.

Mr Sevash-Zade replied: "I anticipated that the situation would not remain the same and at least the officer on the vessel would take some action."

'Made an assumption'

Mr Sevash-Zade was asked by the judge whether he told Mr Carr about information he had seen for the Closest Point of Approach (CPA) data being shown on the radar which said the Goodwill and L'Ecume II were very close and could collide.

Responding, Mr Sevash-Zade said he had no concerns about a collision at the time and he believed Mr Carr was aware of the boat.

Under cross-examination from the prosecution, Mr Sevash-Zade was asked if he assumed Mr Carr had the situation under control when he left the bridge.

Previously during the trial, the prosecution had argued this assumption was "dangerous".

Mr Sevash-Zade said: "Yes, I made an assumption that everything was under his control."

Handout photos of L'Ecume II's skipper Michael Michieli and crew members Larry Simyunn and Jervis Baligat. They have been combined together to form one photo.Image source, Ports of Jersey
Image caption,

L'Ecume II's skipper Michael Michieli and crew members Larry Simyunn and Jervis Baligat were killed in the incident

Mr Sevash-Zade said when he went onto the port (left) side shortly before the collision, he spotted L'Ecume II was "quite close" and it looked like it would cross the Goodwill's path from port to starboard (right).

The 35-year-old added he saw a green side light and deck lights on L'Ecume II, but did not think these were fishing lights.

He said when he spotted the fishing boat, he went straight to the bridge and said "are those [expletive] guys asleep?" to second officer Mr Carr.

Mr Sevash-Zade said when the collision happened, he went to the starboard side to check if L'Ecume II was visible, but he could not see the vessel or any people in the water.

He told the court Mr Carr seemed to be in a state of shock and did not give him a clear answer when the Ukrainian asked if he had called the captain.

Mr Sevash-Zade added once the captain came to the bridge, he did whatever he was ordered to do including steering the ferry and his man overboard duties.

During cross-examination from Mr Carr's defence team, Mr Sevash-Zade said he understood his duties as a lookout on the bridge without being told.

On Wednesday, Mr Sevash-Zade said he "did not remember" getting a brief from his co-defendant when they first worked together on the bridge four days before the collision.

When asked by Mr Carr's defence about the difficulties which might have occurred of keeping watch of L'Ecume II while he was out raising flags outside the bridge, Mr Sevash-Zade said he had been instructed to carry out the duties by his co-defendant.

He said Mr Carr was aware of L'Ecume II and he started his tasks because he had no additional concerns.

'I just obeyed'

Mr Sevash-Zade said he was just following orders when he went for breakfast while on watch.

While being cross-examined by the prosecution, Mr Sevash-Zade was asked if he was breaking the rules when he went for breakfast shortly after starting his shift as lookout.

In response, Mr Sevash-Zade said Mr Carr had asked him if he wanted to go for breakfast and gave him permission to do so.

"It is not my decision, I just obeyed," he added.

Mr Sevash-Zade's defence concluded its evidence with several character statements from friends, family and former crewmates.

Plaekha Ivan Sergeevich said he was his closest friend who was "kind and honest", while Mykola Khrolenko - who had also worked on the Goodwill - said he was a good team player who was responsible and conscientious.

The trial continues.

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