Sheriff undecided about what to do with drunken sailor

The question of what to do with the drunken sailor will be addressed in three weeks’ time after a Latvian sea caption admitted sailing his ship down the River Tay while almost four times the limit. Sheriff Alastair Brown told Andrejs Borodins he was considering a jail sentence due to the seriousness of his actions in piloting his 300ft container ship down the narrow part of the river from Perth 10 days ago. He told the 53-year-old: “I regard this as a very serious offence and there was the potential to do serious damage and to put lives at risk.” He said the accused had an alcohol level “within touching distance of four times the limit,” and added: “A custodial sentence is a very serious possibility.”



Borodins was remanded in custody for three weeks for a report despite an appeal by his solicitor, John Kydd of Dundee firm Thorntons, to grant him bail. Mr Kydd said he had managed to get hold of Borodins’ passport before his ship had sailed and could surrender it to the court if he was granted bail. His company is standing by him despite the conviction and agreed to allow Mr Kydd to book a hotel room in Dundee as a bail address if sentence was deferred, Mr Kydd said. Borodins, who was assisted by a Russian-speaking interpreter, admitted that on July 28, while being the professional master of the ship the Frifjord, of sailing the vessel on the River Tay between Perth and Dundee and at Dundee Harbour while almost four times the legal limit (137 mics). The legal limit is 35 mics.

Depute fiscal Eilidh Robertson told the court Borodins was preparing to negotiate the Norwegian-owned Frifjord through the shipping lanes under the rail and road bridges but was unable to carry out instructions given to him by a local pilot, who suspected him of being under the influence. Ms Robertson told the court the pilot had boarded the ship at Balmerino to guide it through the bridges and immediately suspected Borodins was drunk. She said: “He became concerned about the accused’s demeanour. He noticed that Borodins was unsteady on his feet and formed the opinion that he was under the influence of something and contacted Dundee Port Authority to inform them of his concerns, who in turn contacted the police.” They boarded the ship and found him lying in his bunk asleep and heavily under the influence of alcohol, she said. They woke him and his breath smelled strongly of alcohol and he was staggering and incoherent.



Borodins told police: “I arrived at the port sober and had a drink at the port.” Told by Sheriff Brown that he was calling for a report, Mr Kydd said despite his crime, his employers were standing by him and he had booked a hotel in Dundee as a bail address for three weeks in anticipation of the sheriff deferring sentence. He added: “The seven days he has spent in Perth Prison has had a sobering effect on him and he admits he has let himself down as well as his family and his employers. He blames no one else for this and his 
explanation is that he was exhausted, his behaviour was abnormal and he’s also got a lot of explaining to do to his wife and family.” Sheriff Brown told Borodins the chances of running aground, of colliding with either of the Tay rail or road bridges or other river traffic and of causing injury or endangering the lives of his crew and others “must have been very high”. He added the possibility of causing environmental damage to the Tay, with the associated costs to the economy of Scotland, was also very high. Sentence was deferred until August 26 for a criminal social work report.