Long ago, though in a galaxy not far away (meaning New Orleans), I was for a time a Coast Guard Investigating Officer, and on rare occasion had to decide to charge a licensed mariner with negligence or violation of regulation, and proceed against that License. Or decide not to.
This was some serious stuff. Tanker in the Gulf ran into/over a low-lying oil platform under construction, at 18 knots, at night. Fire and total loss for tanker, but fortunately no one on the platform, no one hurt on the ship, and supply boats nearby to rescue crew as they abandoned ship. Lots of details to consider, but platform was unlit (very recent hurricane had put out a lot of lights in the Gulf).
Long story short, Captain went before an Admin Law Judge and was given a revocation of license for a period of months with a "probation" for a year provided no further incidents. Two mates (who didn't check the Notices to Mariners recently enough to know their trackline went directly "over" this new platform under construction) given letters of reprimand.
The point in my view was to not "do in" these three mariners, but to get the word out in a real way to industry that post-storm steaming the Gulf requires much caution, and better to use the Safety Fairways than to "run the rigs" and risk a new structure being built along your favorite route while you were up on the East Coast or somewhere else.
I know nada about the facts of this case and why moving vessel had no lookout while steaming in an area with obstructions, but maybe the Cayman authorities saw that a lesson that needed to be learned, was learned, and is unlikely to occur. Possibly tempered by the fact that insurance was in place and would cover victim-vessel? Having once been "the authorities", there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes in making a decision, which may not be apparent to the maritime (or general) public.
At the end of the hearing, I learned this same captain had previously lost a tanker in flames early in his long career. It was torpedoed out from under him during WWII. Can you imagine how he must have felt to have it happen a second time? I was more glad to have not thrown the book at him in this loss.
