VEGTIND

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Captain was intoxicated when ferry allided with quay

The 'Vegtind' allided with a pier in the Patarei port in Tallinn on the evening of Sep 7, 2025, with three crew members and 97 passengers on board, while the captain was under the influence of alcohol, according to the director of the owner company Spinnaker OÜ. The vessel was en route from the island of Aegna to Tallinn. None of the passengers onboard were injured. it had initially been thought the incident happened due to a technical malfunction, as the usual mooring procedure failed. The captain put the ship in reverse, but instead, it continued to move forward. Ít rurned out that the captain made a mistake and activated the wrong setting: A function was activated that keeps the ship's propeller in a position that only allows forward movement. As a result, the ship could not be stopped in reverse and, instead of the planned mooring, an allision with the pier occurred. It became clear afterwards that the captain was intoxicated at the time of the accident. He has admitted his guilt in causing the accident, and the company has terminated his employment. The 'Vegtind' was in need of repairs and will undergo a thorough inspection by the Transport Authority before returning to service. On Sep 12, the ship will be replaced by the 'Strande'. The route will continue as planned, but the trip will take an hour instead of the usual 30 minutes. The Safety Investigation Bureau has begun investigating the causes of the accident. Report with photo: https://news.err.ee/1609793580/captain-of-ship-that-ran-aground-in-tallinn-was-under-influence-of-alcohol