Marine

22.8, Scandinavian Star inquiry, update

Denmark: there will be no new investigation by the Danish authorities into the cause of the fatal fire on board the ferry Scandinavian Star in spite of allegations in the local press of a bungled police investigation following the accident. While the Danish parliament legal sub-committee is understood to have considered launching a fresh investigation it is now believed to have ruled it out. Media reports in Denmark accused the Norwegian police of manipulating evidence given by a passenger following the 1990 accident in which 158 people lost their lives. The allegations centred on an eyewitness identification of a man police believed to be an arsonist. The Scandinavian Star , under charter to Danish VR Da- No Line, was on a voyage from Oslo to Frederikshavn when a fire broke out on board in the early hours of Apr 7, 1990. The fire spread very rapidly, with many passengers being trapped in their cabins. Toxic gases produced by materials used on the vessel were believed to account for many of the deaths. The major shareholders of VR Da-No, a board director and the master of the vessel, were each found guilty of being responsible for inadequate security arrangements on the Scandinavian Star by a Danish court in 1992. This was the first time that jail sentences had been given for a violation of the Danish ship safety laws.