Captain appears at hearing on fatal collision

ST. JOHN’S, Newfoundland – The captain of a Russian tanker appeared in court Monday at the continuation of a hearing on whether evidence in a fatal hit-and-run at sea should be turned over to U.S. prosecutors.

Three Russian sailors from the oil tanker MT Virgo could face criminal charges in the United States for their alleged role in the collision off the Massachusetts coast with the trawler Starbound on Aug. 5, 2001.

The U.S. Coast Guard says the Cypriot-flagged tanker didn’t stop after it rammed and sank the trawler, killing three of the four New England fishermen aboard.

The tanker, which was dispatched from Boston to pick up a load of fuel, was seized by Canadian officials when it arrived in Newfoundland two days later.

The ship’s owners have said the crew was unaware of a collision.

The tanker’s captain, Vladimir Ivanoff, and two of his crew, Dmitry Bogdanov and Mikhail Gerasimenko, were arrested in St. John’s on Aug. 14, 2001. American investigators say the three should stand trial for manslaughter in the United States because the collision took place in U.S. waters.

But first, the court hearings in Canada must determine what evidence can be sent to American authorities under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty. Another hearing later will determine if the three sailors can be extradited to the United States.

Ivanoff appeared in court with a translator. The contents of the hearing were not being published because a question remained late Monday whether the proceedings were under a publication ban, which restricts media from reporting the contents of the hearing.

The Russian sailors remain free on bail on the condition they remain in Newfoundland.

The Starbound’s captain, Joseph Marcantonio of Gloucester, Mass., managed to escape from the foundering vessel. He told investigators a large tanker had rammed the Rockland, Maine-based trawler.

Mark Doughty of Yarmouth, Maine, James Sanfilippo of Thomaston, Maine, and Thomas Frontiero of Gloucester, Mass., died.