A Russian captain who was found missing from the bridge of a 2,500-tonne Cypriot-registered bulk carrier named ‘Pur-Navolok’ which was making its entry into the Cornwall port was reportedly found so drunk that his chief mate had to take over his position.
When the concerned harbour pilot responsible for helping the ship navigate up the river and into its berth at Fowey boarded the ship, he found Russian captain Sergey Safronov missing from the bridge of the ship and found the ship piloted by the Chief mate. After searching for the captain he found him in an inebriated condition struggling to complete even the paperwork submitted by the harbour master and his chief mate had to complete the formalities on behalf of him.
The harbourmaster Captain Paul Thomas reported the matter to the port health visitor and the police were called in for investigation. The Russian captain failed the alcohol breath test conducted by the harbour police and his alcohol level was found to be three times more than the permissible limit. He was arrested after failing the alcohol test and found to arguing with the police.
The Magistrate court investigating this case was reported that captain Safronov smelt of alcohol and had consciousness of what was going around him. He confessed that he had been drinking to celebrate a family event and pleaded guilty of committing this offence. In the court, an interpreter was provided to him and his case was represented by solicitor Elliott Moore who emphasized that the captain was not piloting the ship in an inebriated condition. The magistrate had remanded the captain in custody and will be serving him with a sentence later this month.
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Source: Plymouth Herald
