Trial started after fatal boat collision in Hakefjorden

The accident happened at the end of July when the family was on their way home from their boating holiday in Bohuslän in the pleasure boat. There were four of them on board – the father, mother and two children. Also on the trip was his brother with his family in his boat.

- We didn't really have any stress anywhere, he tells a packed courtroom in the Gothenburg District Court.

During the trip, the brother had problems with the boat and they decided to cancel the holiday. His brother's boat had to lie in front of him on the way to the home port in Kungälv municipality.

It was when they passed Hakefjorden, east of Tjörn, that the accident happened. He did not hear the 90 meter long cargo ship Misje Verde approaching.

- What I remember just before the accident is that I hear an engine sound and I think it sounds like it's a bigger ship. Then I look over my shoulder and see only a black bulb.

- In which direction are you looking?, asked prosecutor James von Reis.

- My port side. It is only a meter behind us. Then I turn to starboard and notice that I am being sucked down. We won't get out of there. Then we roll around and it becomes pitch black. I haven't even had time to take a deep breath, so I'm just trying to push away.

- I take a few strokes and realize that I don't know which way I'm swimming. Then it gets a little brighter and I come to the surface.

He quickly realized that his daughter and wife had not made it.

- I broke down, he says.

He and his son were seriously injured but survived. They were rescued by a couple who had stopped with their boat at the island of Katten. Then, he estimates, he was in the water for an hour. In fact it was more around 45 minutes.

- I felt that I couldn't take it anymore, he says in the courtroom.

The captain and the Swedish Maritime Administration's pilot, who were both on the ship's bridge, have been charged with causing the death of another, causing bodily harm and negligence in maritime traffic.

According to the indictment, they have failed to keep a constant and accurate watch according to maritime rule 5. They have also, according to the prosecutor, violated maritime rule 13 that overtaking vessels must always give way to the vessel being overtaken.

Both defendants have denied wrongdoing. They have denied that they were not looking out at the time of the accident. The defense has referred to maritime rule 9 which states that vessels shorter than 20 metres, such as the leisure boat in which the family was travelling, may not obstruct the passage of another vessel in narrow waterways.

- The issue of lookout applies to both Misje Verde and the pleasure boat, said lawyer Thomas Håkansson in his statement of case.

He also brought up documents showing that the Misje Verde had a much larger "dead angle" than required for a vessel of that type. This is because of the excavator that has been mounted on the front deck.

According to him, it was something the pilot was not informed about.

- Visually, he could not see as much as he thought from the bridge. The defense's view is that this terrible accident has been caused by a number of unfortunate circumstances, says the lawyer.

The trial continues on Friday when both the pilot and the captain will be questioned. The father's brother, who was in another recreational boat at the time of the accident, will also testify then.