Master and pilot suspected after boat collision outside Tjörn

At 21:27 on the evening of July 28, a recreational boat sank in the Hakefjord outside Tjörn. On board were a mother and a daughter who both died. A father and his son were rescued from the water. Police and prosecutors suspect that the boat was hit by the Norwegian-flagged freighter Misje Verde.

Suspected of causing the death of another

A total of eight people were on board the ship. The commander is, as ultimately responsible, on probable grounds suspected of causing the death of another. The Swedish Maritime Administration's pilot, who was on board at the time, is also suspected of causing the death of another.

Both deny wrongdoing.

According to prosecutors, the most important investigative measures have been technical analysis of the cargo ship and the leisure boats, which were able to show the exact route and speed. Furthermore, the cargo ship's "black box" has been printed so that the investigators can hear audio files of all the speech on the bridge as well as film sequences with radar images and the electronic chart displayed in real time on the ship's bridge.

Prosecutor: Seen on the radar

Prosecutor James van Reis says in a statement that both commander and pilot were confronted with radar sequences.

"Both have admitted that in good time you can see clear radar echoes from both recreational boats, both the one that was hit and capsized and the companion boat that was a little ahead. But that they have not paid attention to this in real time. If only they had done, measures would have been taken at Misje Verde to avoid a collision," James van Reis writes in a press release.

Due to the confidentiality of the preliminary investigation, he does not want to go into why pilots and commanders deny crimes.

The district court states as reasons for continued detention the risk of the commander deviating as well as the risk of so-called collusion danger, that is, that he removes evidence or complicates the investigation if he is at large.

Equally strong suspicions

The commander's defense has disputed that there is a risk of collusion and has said he will attend the trial.

At present, the criminal suspicions are equally strong against the master and the pilot.

"No one appears more or less guilty than the other," writes James van Reis in a text message to SVT Nyheter Väst.