Captain of Commodore Goodwill speaks about day of L’Ecume II crash

The captain of the Commodore Goodwill has described the “blur” of events on the morning the freight vessel collided with the fishing trawler L’Ecume II, killing three men.

Giving evidence in the Royal Court, Captain Zelazny said he was on a mandatory rest break in his cabin when he was called back to the bridge on 8 December 2022.

He recalled hearing the ship’s horn sound “five or more short blasts” before a noise “like brushing a hand against a curtain.” Minutes later, he received a call from Second Officer Lewis Carr asking him to return to the bridge, but no mention was made of a collision.

Prosecutor Crown Advocate Matthew Maletroit asked if Carr had explained why he was needed. “No,” the captain replied.

Back on the bridge, Captain Zelazny said he focused on “the task at hand” as the situation escalated rapidly. “Everything happened in a matter of seconds,” he told the jury, adding that he reduced speed and altered course to return to the site of the impact. “I was hoping to recover people. I was hoping to assist,” he said.

Advocate Maletroit pressed him on whether the vessel could have been turned around sooner. “No,” the captain responded.

He also explained the ship’s operational rule of keeping at least one nautical mile from other vessels, particularly fishing boats. “We didn’t want to be closer… because it could lead to dangerous situations,” he said, adding that fishing vessels were “difficult to predict.”

Captain Zelazny is due to continue his evidence on Monday, 8 September, when the trial of Second Officer Lewis Carr and lookout Artur Sevash-Zade resumes.

Both men deny three counts of manslaughter.