Drunk Captain Saved By The Bell, A Helicopter, Other Ships, And a Little Bit of Luck

The M/V Wilson Avonmouth. Image via VesselTracker.com

The Captain of the Maltese-flagged M/V Wilson Avonmouth is lucky to have avoided going aground near Helsingor, Denmark after passing out at the helm, and only to be awoken by frantic attempts from authorities and other vessels in area.

VesselFinder.com has the story:

The vessel was southbound and had during the last hour kept the same course.

According calculations of the vessel traffic system, course and speed would lead to a grounding within nearly 30 minutes and everything therefore had to be initiated extremely swiftly and effectively to get the cargo vessel to change course.

They tried to reach the freighter by the radio continuously but without any response by the captain’s side.

To contact the vessel other ships in the zone were contacted and asked to help and a rescue helicopter and the Swedish Coast Guard was deployed. 10 minutes before grounding contact was eventually made with the cargo vessel.

Needless to say, the captain was promptly arrested.

In related drunk sea captain news, a Russian Master was in court this week in the UK after being arrested for ramming the gates of the Goole lock with his vessel not once, but TWICE. Police were called and once in custody, the man drunkenly asked, “Can I have another go?”

Don’t drink and drive, kids.

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