The Master of the MSC Jubilee IX (container SHIP, IMO: 9450337) was arrested by the US Coast Guard in Seattle for being six times over the legal Limit.
“what shall we do with the drunken sailor?”, well in the case of 8,814 teu, MSC Jubilee IX it was to arrest him.
The US Coast Guard Investigative Service arrested the Captain of the MSC Jubilee IX on 20 August on suspicion of operating a container ship while under the influence on 20 August at Terminal 5 in the Port of Seattle.
The alarm was raised when a pilot boarded the vessel sailing into the Port of Seattle. A Puget Sound Pilot on board the MSC Jubilee IX reported to coast guard watchstanders that the Captain was exhibiting signs of intoxication. The vessel was operating by the pilot and First Mate for the transit from an anchorage near Everett, Washington, to Terminal 5 at the Port of Seattle, where it was boarded by agents from the Coast Guard Investigation Service.
“The Pilot’s immediate intervention mitigated significant risks and ensured the safe passage of the vessel,” Paul Shultz, Special Agent in Charge, CGIS Northwest Field Office.
“Crews administered a field sobriety and breathalyser test to the Captain, which found that he was impaired more than six times the legal limit for commercial mariners,” USCG said.
The Captain was taken to King County Jail, where charges were referred to the King County Prosecutor for “boating under the influence”.
The Liberian-flagged MSC Jubilee IX is owned by MSC and managed by MSC Ship Management.
The vessel was detained by the Coast Guard until a relief Captain for the MSC Jubilee IX was confirmed. According to AIS data from Pole Star Global the container ship departed the Port of Seattle on 22 August bound for the Port of Prince Rupert in Canada.
USCG said the incident was under investigation
