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.”

lucy August 25, 2025 (1:48 pm)

Where were you when the ship hit the span? Luckily this was not a repeat.

Alki resident August 25, 2025 (2:34 pm)

This likely saved many lives. I’m glad he got busted. I can’t imagine the damage he could’ve caused.

thee August 25, 2025 (2:52 pm)

when you blow a .25 I believe the legal term is “hammered”.

North Admiral Cyclist August 25, 2025 (2:54 pm)

Great reporting! It is truly interesting that a “DUI” while “driving” a container ship – that could result in $100M in damages or more, and could greatly inconvenience 40,000+ residents of West Seattle for months and years (if something major like a bridge span was impacted) would be a gross misdemeanor. Of course, more likely damage from a DUI mishap would be to the Port’s container facilities, the cruise ship terminals, the Downtown ferry terminal or the water taxi landing at Salty’s, but still the prospects would be expensive and sobering.

K August 25, 2025 (3:30 pm)

Most of the guidelines for severity of different crimes and corresponding punishments are about how people FEEL about the crimes, rather than the societal impact. That’s why you’ll see more time for stealing a car than stealing a pension fund or wage theft. Middle class white people drive drunk, so we say “everyone makes mistakes” and it’s a gross misdemeanor. In general, crimes committed using cars carry lesser penalties because people just love their cars, sometimes more than other people.
- Adam August 25, 2025 (4:27 pm)
  
  I’d like to commend K on inserting race needlessly. I’m often wondering when and how it’ll happen, this was seamless. Congrats. You may have a future in politics.
- Question Authority August 25, 2025 (7:37 pm)
  
  “Middle class white people drive drunk” Care to be more blatant with your generalized accusations?
  - Firefighter August 25, 2025 (11:08 pm)
    
    Racial Distribution of DUI Arrests (2016)
    
    DUI Arrest Statistics by Race
    
    The following table summarizes the racial breakdown of DUI arrests in the United States:
    White82%Latino23%Black14%American Indian2%
    Source: Internet search: Spartacuslawfirm.com
    
    RACE/ETHNICITY PERCENTAGE OF DUI ARRESTS
    - Question Authority August 26, 2025 (7:30 am)
      
      But again, why does race have anything to do with this event? Why not just also assume the alcohol was Vodka because he was Ukrainian and that’s what “they” drink? People need to stuck to what’s relevant, someone was drunk while on a ship being piloted by someone who wasn’t drunk.
    - Firefighter August 26, 2025 (2:10 pm)
      
      Please read the originating post in this thread – threads are sequences of comments so to understand relevancy it’s important to read the entire sequence of comments – not just fly off on a tangent from the last comment if it peeves you.
    - CarneAsada August 26, 2025 (8:14 am)
      
      Thanks for the breakdown of arrests showing that DUI arrests mirror the racial/ethnic makeup of our country. Good to see that at least in DUI arrests there’s not profiling happening. Those numbers show that that DUI is equally prevalent among all races.
    - anonyme August 26, 2025 (10:51 am)
      
      These are very rough demographics, but should at least be compared to the total percentages per race in the US population:White 58%Hispanic 20%Black 13%Asian 6%
Frog August 25, 2025 (4:38 pm)

Not to worry — as the article mentions, the ship was actually being steered by a local pilot. That is typical in any harbor worldwide. The captain possibly had some responsibility, but it was not “driving” the ship. If he was that much given to drink, probably the driving was left to others even on the open sea.

Jim August 25, 2025 (3:15 pm)

The legal limit is – .08 – That’s over 3 times the legal limit. As most DUI drivers say – I just washed my mouth with mouth wash and I haven’t had a single drink today (yes, not a single drink – but most of 4/5s of a quart bottle. Was their first clue he couldn’t stand up?

WSB August 25, 2025 (3:48 pm)

The charging documents are very long, even including technical details of the field sobriety test and breath analyses, but one line I did make note of and forgot to include was that the field sobriety tests were going so poorly that they stopped and proceeded to the breath test.
K August 25, 2025 (4:39 pm)

It’s .08 for driving a car. Lower than that for operating a maritime vessel (I want to say .04, but don’t quote me on that).
- WSB August 25, 2025 (4:45 pm)
  
  In our other story, I cited .04 based on reputable online citations. However, that’s COMMERCIAL boating. This appears to be just basic vessel operation, so apparently it’s .08, as that’s what’s cited in the docs. (But the .04 makes sense in reference to the Coast Guard saying he was at six times the commercial level.)
  - K August 25, 2025 (4:50 pm)
    
    That’s crazy if this isn’t considered a commercial vessel. Hopefully that gets ironed out as the case progresses.
Formerly West Seattle August 25, 2025 (4:44 pm)

“So far as we’ve been able to find via research, the legal blood-alcohol limit for commercial boating is .04 (from the original report), which makes it 6 times the legal limit.
aa August 25, 2025 (10:12 pm)

As most DUI drivers say? How do you know that?

Eddie August 25, 2025 (3:45 pm)

Dude will lose his license and ability to work in that profession.

Rhonda August 25, 2025 (5:28 pm)

.05 should be the limit for automobile drivers. .08 is too high. At .07 most people are way too intoxicated to be driving.

Lauren August 25, 2025 (7:39 pm)

Rhonda, 100% agreed.

Guy August 25, 2025 (5:53 pm)

The captain is not steering or maneuvering the ship, I hope people realize this. Definitely not maneuvering or recommending the course when entering a port.

Maritime August 25, 2025 (7:40 pm)

The pilot usually boards the vessels in Port Angeles and is in command of the ship until it reaches its terminal destination. The ship does not stop in Port Angeles to pick up the pilot as a smaller boat pulls alongside the moving ship for the pilot to board. It’s about 4-5 hours from Port Angeles to Seattle/Tacoma area via container ship.
Peter S. August 25, 2025 (8:19 pm)

@Guy: It’s still irresponsible and dangerous. Captain maintains ultimate responsibility for the vessel even though the Pilot was in charge for local waters. That’s tantamount to saying NBD if the commercial airplane Captain was intoxicated, since the (presumably sober) co-pilot was doing the actual flying.
High on fire August 25, 2025 (10:04 pm)

Still not ok to be hammered

Emily G. August 25, 2025 (11:00 pm)

What an unbelievable doofus. Yes he is likely going through some high-octane Bad Stuff what with being from Ukraine but… save the liquid coping mechanism for off-duty with a sober buddy and lots of carbs and water so you don’t hate life the next day, my guy.So glad nobody was hurt. SMH.

bradley August 26, 2025 (9:46 am)

Well at least it wasn’t an oil tanker. s/

North Admiral Cyclist August 26, 2025 (12:31 pm)

For those that like to keep a toe dipped into the waters of the maritime industry, you will be familiar with the YouTube channel “What’s Going On in Shipping?”. For our edification and entertainment, Sal Mercogliano from the channel recently outline the Seattle “drunk captain” incident. He also touches on the responsibilities of the captain vs the pilot. It is important to note that the maritime industry has an extremely strong code of silence. As strong as any I’ve ever witnessed. For the pilot to take the initiative to report this situation tells me it was most egregious.

Eddie August 27, 2025 (5:18 pm)

TV reporting captain was failure to appear today (wed 8/27) and now has $10k warrant for arrest.
- WSB August 27, 2025 (5:24 pm)
  
  Thanks, will check on that, I hadn’t checked the court files yet today. He was present for arraignment earlier this week, per KCPAO.

Sorry, comment time is over.