Manslaughter Trial Underway After Jersey Fishing Boat Tragedy

Trial Opens Over Fatal Jersey Fishing Boat Collision The trial of two men accused of manslaughter following the deaths of three fishermen whose vessel sank off Jersey has begun.

The fishing boat L’Ecume II was lost after colliding with the freight ferry Commodore Goodwill in December 2022.

Artur Sevash-Zade, 35, and Lewis Peter Carr, 30, both former Condor Ferries employees, are charged with three counts of manslaughter in relation to the deaths of skipper Michael Michieli, 62, and crew members Jervis Ramirez Baligat, 31, and Larry Simyunn, 33.

At Jersey’s Royal Court, both men denied the manslaughter charges, as well as allegations of breaching Jersey’s shipping law by failing to carry out their duties in a way that avoided “loss, destruction, death or injury.”

Mr Michieli, a veteran fisherman from Jersey, was at the helm of L’Ecume II when the vessel sank on 8 December 2022. His crew, Mr Baligat and Mr Simyunn, were Filipino nationals who had been working alongside him.

The case is being heard at the Government of Jersey’s Parade Studio, where a jury of 14 has been empanelled. Presiding judge Commissioner Sir John Saunders explained that while only 12 jurors will deliver a verdict, additional members were chosen given the trial’s expected four-week duration.