Ben David, the captain. Slept during collision
צילום: אלעד גרשגורן
Zim Asia crew members arrested
Police arrest crew members of the Zim Asia cargo vessel, involved in deadly boating accident in Japan last month, on suspicion of negligent homicide. Other personnel members to be questioned in relation to collision. Men arrested upon ship's arrival in Israel Sunday
The Police Fraud Unit arrested Sunday the Captain, Moshe Ben-David, the first officer and the observer of the Zim Asia cargo vessel that was involved in a sea accident last month in which seven Japanese fishermen had been killed.
The men were arrested on suspicion of negligent homicide. Another 20 crew members who were on board the ship when the collision took place will be investigated as well.
On September 28 the Zim Asia cargo ship collided with a Japanese fishing boat in international water, in close proximity to Japan's territorial water. The accident resulted in the deaths of seven fishermen. One man survived the crash.
An investigation into the incident was launched immediately following the collision by the Israeli Port Authority, but in light of the severity of the matter, the investigation was later turned over to the hands of the police.
The two main suspicions Zim Asia personnel face are of negligent homicide and failure to perform rescue at sea (a clause in shipping law).
The police are also expected to examine why the deck officer failed to wake up the captain, who was sleeping while the accident occurred.
Did crew ignore signals for crash?
Police Chief Investigation Unit, Major General David Cohen has assigned the case to the Fraud Unit, which has launched a secret investigation into the accident several days ago.
Upon the arrival of the Zim vessel in the Haifa Harbor Sunday morning, the investigation was unveiled.
Police teams boarded the ship to conduct a search of the vessel Sunday, and crew members were detained for questioning.
The police will attempt to establish whether the ship's crew ignored signals indicating an approaching collision.
According to reports in the Japanese media, ZIM CEO Doron Goder, who recently met with Hokkaido governor Harumi Takahashi, revealed in the meeting that the ship's radar spotted the approaching fishing boat, and that an alarm was activated to notify the crew.
It was reported that Godar told the governor that in spite of the alarm, no one on board responded to the alert. Goder however stressed that the ship's personnel failed to assist the Japanese boat because the collision went unnoticed on the cargo vessel.
