St Jacques Ii News

The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) report that a French maritime court convicted the French skipper of the fishing vessel St. Jacques II for violations of the navigation rules following the April 23, 2001 collision with the Maltese vessel Gudermes in the Dover Strait. The master was found to have been proceeding the wrong way in the traffic lane, failing to show proper navigation lights while underway, and colliding with another vessel. He was fined 7500 Euros. Source: HK Law

The U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) announced that at a hearing yesterday the Channel Magistrates Court the owner/skipper of the French fishing vessel, St. Jacques II, was convicted of causing pollution from the Maltese tanker, Gudermes. On the morning of March 23rd last year the St Jacques II was proceeding to fishing grounds off the Thames Estuary from Boulogne. Skipper Loïc Margollé had set a course which took his vessel the wrong way along the South West traffic lane. He then left the vessel in the charge of a young rating, who subsequently fell asleep on watch. In the early hours of the morning the "St Jacques II" collided with the Gudermes, rupturing a cargo tank and spilling oil into the sea.