Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2011 May 11 - 17 [SDF]

MSDF Aegis ship found not liable for fatal collision

The Yokohama District Court on May 11 acquitted two Maritime Self-Defense Force officers over a collision between an MSDF Aegis ship and a civilian fishing boat three years ago causing the deaths of two fishermen.

The two accused, an ex-officer on duty at the time and an ex-chief navigator of the Aegis destroyer Atago, had been blamed for professional negligence resulting in death over the destroyer’s collision with the fishing boat Seitoku Maru off Chiba in February 2008.

The court did not hold the two ex-officers criminally accountable for the deaths because it disallowed the Seitoku Maru track chart submitted by the prosecutors as insufficient evidence for determining that the Atago was responsible to take avoidance action.

The court overlooked the fact that the destroyer crew on watch was not closely monitoring the fishing boat to avoid a possible collision.

In the 13th trial held last December, the ex-captain of the Atago testified that the watch officer on duty that night might have expected that the fishing boat would take evasive action.

The testimony shows that the Self-Defense Forces have an inclination to think that an MSDF ship should be given priority in maritime traffic.

The “not guilty” verdict met with protests from the bereaved families as being “impossible and unbelievable.” A fisherman from Katsuura, the same fishing port as that of the dead fishermen, anxiously said, “The ruling is extremely regrettable. I’m afraid that the court decision may allow warships freer passage than ever before.”