CRIME WATCH FOLLOWUP: Container-ship captain charged with operating a vessel while under the influence

The container-ship captain arrested for alleged boating under the influence is now charged. We reported Saturday about the arrest of the captain after his ship, MSC Jubilee IX, docked at Terminal 5 in West Seattle; he had been reported by a pilot on board to navigate the ship through Puget Sound. The Coast Guard’s weekend news release said the case had been referred to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, so we inquired this morning about the status, and got word the captain was charged this morning. 48-year-old Oleh V. Danylin is charged with Operating a Vessel While Under the Influence, which is a gross misdemeanor. The charging documents say a breathalyzer test the morning of his arrest last Wednesday put his blood-alcohol level at .25. One of the investigators who wrote the documents noted, “The odor of intoxicants emitting from his person was so strong, it filled the room,” even though a fan was running. Investigators also wrote that Danylin denied having had any alcohol and claimed he’d used Listerine moments earlier. According to the King County Jail docket, he was booked into KCJ Wednesday night and released Thursday afternoon; the KCPAO says he was freed on personal recognizance but had to surrender his passport – the charging documents identify him as a citizen of Ukraine – and has another hearing coming up this Wednesday.

P.S. Jurisdictional note from KCPAO spokesperson Casey McNerthney: “Most DUI cases in King County are handled by the cities in which they occur. However, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has jurisdictions on state roads, unincorporated King County, and some cases on the water, such as this one.”

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