Manslaughter charges over L’Ecume II deaths
17th July 2024
A Ukrainian national has been charged with three counts of manslaughter following the deaths of the skipper and crew of the Jersey trawler L’Ecume II.
The 18m trawler sank after a collision with a Condor ro-ro ferry, Commodore Goodwill, off the northwest coast of Jersey in the early hours of 8 December, 2022 with the loss of all her crew.
Artur Sevash-Zade, aged 34, a Ukrainian national, was arrested in the UK and brought to Jersey, where he appeared before the island’s Magistrates’ Court on 3 July.
An interpreter was present in court and translated for Mr Sevash-Zade, who did not speak. He was refused bail after concerns were raised that he only had an address in Poland, and none in the UK or Jersey. He will remain in custody on remand until 6 September, when the case will be heard in Jersey’s Royal Court.
A Condor Ferries spokesperson said: “Condor Ferries has worked closely with the authorities since the incident in December 2022 to establish what happened.
“We are unable to comment further at this time, other than to say that our thoughts remain with all those affected.”
Leading Jersey skipper Michael Michieli (pictured above) and his two crew, Filipino fishermen Jervis Baligat and Larry Simyunn, were lost following the collision with the Commodore Goodwill.
A major search and rescue operation was launched, and the bodies of the two crewmen were recovered from the wreck by divers in December 2022 and repatriated.
Attempts to raise the wreck began in mid-April 2023, but strong tides and gales had broken up the vessel, and it was eventually raised in parts. The wreckage was taken to a secure compound for forensic examination.
The body of Michael Michieli was recovered at the end of April 2023.
Don Thompson, president of the Jersey Fishermen’s Association, said he could not make any comment on the charges because the legal proceedings were ongoing, but that his thoughts were with the families of the lost crew. “The families deserve some justice and clarity over who was at fault in this tragic case,” he said.
A major investigation into the sinking, Operation Nectar, was launched by States of Jersey Police. They were assisted by four experienced police investigators from the Metropolitan, West Midlands, Yorkshire and Staffordshire police forces.
Police pursued more than 400 lines of enquiry, reviewed more than 165 hours of underwater CCTV footage, interviewed around 80 witnesses and examined over 500 documents, and more than 170 items of property.
A separate maritime safety investigation was carried out by Ports of Jersey Maritime Standards, in conjunction with the Bahamas Maritime Authority (the flag state of the Commodore Goodwill) and the Philippines as an interested party. This aimed to determine the facts and identify lessons to be learned. The report from this investigation has yet to be published.
This story was taken from the latest issue of Fishing News. For more up-to-date and in-depth reports on the UK and Irish commercial fishing sector, subscribe to Fishing News here or buy the latest single issue for just £3.30 here.
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