HANGZHOU, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The second mate of a Maltese cargo ship, Allan Mendoza Tablate, stood trial in a maritime court in eastern China's Zhejiang Province for a regulation violation, which left 14 dead and five unaccounted for, local sources said Saturday.
It is believed to be the first criminal case ever tried in a maritime court in China.
The trial opened Thursday at Ningbo maritime court with more than 40 people attending, including local lawmakers, political advisors, journalists and ordinary citizens.
The court heard that Tablate was steering on the early morning of May 7, 2016 when the cargo ship Catalina was on its route from Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province to Indonesia. In spite of low visibility and complicated conditions in the East China Sea, he was allegedly not keeping a proper lookout, maintaining a safe speed or taking effective measures to avoid other ships in the fog.
The court believes that Tablate's negligence led to the collision of Catalina with a Chinese fishing boat, Lurongyu 58398, resulting in 14 deaths, with five others missing.
Direct losses from the accident totalled 5.08 million yuan (about 746,454 U.S. dollars).
Tablate gave himself up to maritime police in Zhejiang on Sept. 22 last year.
Tablate showed repentance at the trial, and the verdict will be announced later.
In February China's supreme court allowed Ningbo maritime court to pilot trying maritime criminal cases. In the past, local maritime courts only heard civil cases.
