Don't Drink and ...Steer?

While the mantra "don't drink and drive" is a commonly heard phrase, thanks to the captain and several crew members of a Maltese-flagged cargo ship, "don't drink and ship" might soon become a new social campaign. The ship, called the "Nijord, ran aground on the northwestern coast of Latvia the night of Sunday, January 21st. At the time of the accident the seas had been relatively calm, and later blood tests confirmed the authorities' suspicions that alcohol, not technical failure, was the cause of the accident. Luckily the ship was not carrying any cargo at the time, and no one and nothing were injured, other than the crew's reputation. The ship had been on route from France to Riga when it ran aground shortly before reaching its destination.

Ironically, this was the second ship to suffer an accident in Latvian waters in one week, though the previous vessel, a Cypriot cargo ship called the "Golden Sky," ran aground last week due to bad weather, not bad habits.