Award for sea death officer

A detective has been commended for his work to investigate the death of a ship's captain when two vessels collided at sea.

Wolfram Gross, the German captain of the cargo ship Ash, died after a collision with the Dutch tanker Aquamarine eight miles off Hastings in October 2001.

On Tuesday, Sussex Police rewarded Detective Chief Inspector John Levett for his inquiry into an "unusual" case.

The investigation resulted in a manslaughter conviction for the officer on watch on the Aquamarine, 39-year-old Brian D'Esterre Roberts from Ireland, who was jailed for a year in March.

Crime scene

Chief Superintendent Dick Barton, of Sussex Police, said Mr Levett had had to deal with a crime scene nine miles from land and many feet below the sea's surface.

Rather than making house-to-house inquiries, the officer had to talk to people on ships passing at the time.

Mr Barton said the expertise gained through the investigation, the first of its kind in Sussex, was now being used to help other forces around the UK.

A number of police officers, police staff and members of the public were also honoured at the awards ceremony at Horntye Pavilion in Hastings, East Sussex.