Ship captain arrested, too drunk to steer tanker of toxic liquid

STENUNGSUND, Sweden, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The captain of a Swedish tank ship carrying 15,000 tons of flammable liquid was too drunk to steer the ship when apprehended, police said.

The unidentified captain was piloting the tanker Stenberg, 144 meters [472 feet] long and 23 meters [75 feet] wide, from Latvia to the Swedish port of Stenungsund. A small pilot vessel, guiding the ship to harbor, raised the alarm and a senior officer aboard the Stenberg brought the tanker ship to its berth Monday, the Swedish news website The Local.se reported.

"He (the captain) was very drunk the whole day yesterday (Monday) and we have yet to conduct a hearing with him, Swedish Coast Guard spokesman Kalle Isaksson told Sweden's TT news agency.

An administered breath test showed the captain's estimated blood alcohol level was five times over the legal limit, and he "is now suspected of being seriously drunk while at sea," Erik Bagge of the Coast Guard said.

The ship's cargo was 15,000 tons of naptha, a toxic and highly flammable substance distilled from oil that could cause devastation to nature and wildlife if it leaked from the ship, The Local.se said.

The captain remained on board for several hours after the ship docked, in the company of Coast Guard officers, before he was taken ashore and arrested.

"There was no way to take him off the vessel earlier because he was so drunk," Isaksson said.