Interpretation of blood alcohol concentration in maritime accidents—A case report

Abstract

The human element is increasingly acknowledged as an important factor contributing to accidents at sea. Alcohol and drug abuse is becoming an increasing problem among seafarers in the last few years. Recently we registered a few similar maritime accidents on the Adriatic coast. During the analysis of these incidents, it became apparent that the consumption of alcohol on duty was the main cause of the ship being stranded. We report a maritime accident recently happened in port of Rijeka, where the merchant ship stranded on the main breakwater. During the investigation, forensic alcohol analysis established that master's consumption of alcohol on duty was the main cause of the incident. The BAC–UAC relation we found was not physiologically possible, so further diagnostic workup demonstrated that urine was diluted. Various issues are being discussed, such as urine dilution, retrograde calculation, elimination rate, two subsequent blood samples, drinking after the accident, as well as prevention measures. Our observations indicate a need for stricter and more precise legislation as well as more frequent police control that will hopefully result in prevention of serious maritime accidents caused by alcohol consumption. In our opinion, better understanding of the above mentioned apparent problems in navigation rules and maritime law regulations can prevent similar accidents from happening in the future. Accidents like the one described cause double damage for society: due to acute health problems of the crew and navigation safety, as well as due to the long-term harmful consequences such as suspension of career on ship board and early retirement of employees.