The north-east skipper of a fishing vessel has been jailed for a year following the deaths of three men.
David Marr, 53, from Peterhead, has been found guilty of failing to keep a proper lookout off the coast of Shoreham, West Sussex on August 6 2017.
It emerged he had been using a computer and speaking to a friend via WhatsApp at the time.
Mircea Ilie, 40, Irinel Popovici, 41, and Traiam Dumitrache, 50 – all Romanian nationals – died as a result of the encounter with the fishing vessel.
Their boat James 2 began to fill with water after Vertrouwen skippered by Marr passed by. Only one man survived.
Marr was convicted following a trial at Lewes Crown Court and it was during the proceedings the only survivor told they saw the Vertrouwen from about a kilometre away and all four men had been signalling “like mad” before the incident.
Despite this, the vessel carried on in the same direction at the same speed and their boat was swamped by waves.
He described having a clear view of the Vertrouwen’s deck as she passed by and that he could not see anyone there.
Libby Clark, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “It was our case that David Marr had not been paying sufficient attention, if any, when he was on watch. ”
“Had he done so, he would have seen the men on the James 2 as he headed close to them, who were frantically signalling to him in a bid to avert disaster.
“Instead of constantly checking to ensure he knew what was out there, it appears he was doing other things and, even after his actions caused the James 2 to sink, he continued to sail on, oblivious to the fact that three men were about to die as a result of his not keeping a proper lookout.
“The evidence showed that he would have been able to see the lights on the boat for six minutes before the near-miss, yet he continued to sail directly towards the boat with tragic consequences.
“It was not unusual for small fishing boats, like the James 2, to be in this area and the defendant should have been alert to that and the fact that small vessels may not be detected by radar at an adequate stage.
“David Marr should have been using every means available to him, as required by maritime regulations, to establish what, if anything, might be in the sea ahead of or around the ship.”
A master mariner told the trial that a proper lookout on a fishing vessel requires the watchkeeper to give full attention to their task and to be continually visually scanning ahead and around.
They also need to be mindful that smaller vessels may only be detectable at a short range and that marine guidelines state two people should always be on watch during the hours of darkness.
Investigations showed that both the main and back-up radars of the Vertrouwen were replaced on 3 August 2017, just days before the incident happened, and checks were made to ensure they were working.
The first mate also confirmed that the radar equipment on the fishing vessel was working correctly when he took over the shift just hours after the incident.
Evidence also showed that the defendant appeared to be using the ship’s laptop computer around the time of the incident and was also sending What’s App messages to a friend.
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