The captain of a tugboat that failed to come to the rescue of a cruise boat that capsized and sank in a storm, killing 122 people, was ordered on Tuesday to pay a penalty of 190,000 rubles (about $6,000).
Prosecutors had demanded a 200,000-ruble fine for Alexander Yegorov, captain of the Dunaisky-66 tugboat that had passed by the Bulgaria cruise ship as it was sinking in a storm in the Volga River in the Republic of Tatarstan on July 10.
There were over 200 passengers, including about 50 children, on board the heavily overloaded vessel when it went down.
The Kazan city court found that Yegorov could have provided help to the Bulgaria passengers by stopping, using lifeboats and taking at least some of the victims on board, but did not.
Yegorov may appeal the ruling, his defense lawyer said.
