Drunk Crew Grounds Ship Off Sweden

Update: Rescue divers are still investigating the hull to find out how serious the FRI WAVE is damaged. To refloat the vessel, while preventing oil from entering the water, the oil onboard will be initially pumped as far aft onboard the ship as possible. The Coast Guard has measured the depth of the disabled vessel to insert the correct units during rescue.

The master is back onboard, while the co-pilot is still in police custody.

Coast Guard Aviation has found no traces of oil in the water.

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In the early hours of Monday morning, cargo ship Fri Wave ran aground off Sölvesborg, Sweden. None of the six crewmembers onboard have been injured. The Swedish Coast Guard is on site, and has not found any oil in the water.

The grounding tore holes in the two water ballast tanks. Divers have inspected the hull and bottom, and are determining how to approach the salvage of the vessel.

The Fri Wave was heading to Sölvesborg from Dunkerque in France with a cargo of limestone. The Coast Guard performed breath tests on the captain and first mate, both of which tested positive. They were brought ashore and handed over to local police.

The crew reportedly made an error in their navigation and headed for the significantly smaller harbor of Torsö, instead of their intended destination. The captain claimed that he had only taken a drink after the ship ran aground. After further tests in hospital, this claim was dismissed and the captain was arrested on suspicion of being drunk while in charge of the ship.

The Fri Wave is a Curacao-flagged general cargo ship built in 1990. The identities of the accused crewmen were not specified.