A Scots skipper who left three men dead after causing waves to swamp their tiny motor boat has been found guilty of failing to keep a proper lookout.
David Marr was in charge of the Vertrouwen trawler when it passed dangerously close to the James 2 in the early hours of August 6, 2017.
The 54-year-old would have been able to see the lights on the small fishing vessel for six minutes before the accident if he had been paying attention, prosecutors said.
Evidence also showed that Marr, from Peterhead, appeared to have been sending a Whatsapp message to a pal and using the ship’s laptop computer around the same time.
Four fishermen onboard the James 2 had been frantically signalling to the approaching vessel after spotting it 1km away but their efforts went unnoticed by Marr.
Massive waves swamped their pleasure boat, forcing them to jump into the water around 1.5 miles off the coast of Shoreham, Sussex.
Three of the men - Mircea "Mitch" Ilie, 40, Irinel Popovici, 41, and Treaiam Dumitrache, 50 - all drowned while a fourth man was rescued around five hours later.
The only survivor told Lewes Crown Court that they saw the Vertrouwen from about a kilometre away and all four men had been signalling “like mad” before the collision.
Despite this, the Vertrouwen carried on in the same direction at the same speed and their boat was swamped by waves.
Marr was also unaware that the incident had taken place and only realised something tragic had happened after being told by a friend the following day.
He has now been jailed for one year.
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 look out."
"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.”
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