CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Coast Guard assisted the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in the arrest of an intoxicated shrimp boat captain near the Brownsville Ship Channel entrance Monday at 5:18 p.m.
Coast Guard Station South Padre Island crews boarded the shrimp boat Adriana after a TPWD agent identified fake documentation, including birth certificate and permanent resident card, for the captain of the vessel.
Coast Guard boarding officers conducted a Breath Alcohol Content analyzer test and field sobriety test on the captain, after he was believed to have been drinking. The shrimp boat captain registered a .17 BAC, which is more than four times the legal limit and he failed the field sobriety test. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department personnel transferred the captain to the Cameron County Sheriff Department.
“The Coast Guard’s interest is to maintain a safe boating environment for all mariners,” said Cmdr. Daniel Deptula, the response officer at Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi. “Boating under the influence is extremely reckless behavior that not only jeopardizes your own life but lives of innocent people. We are extremely lucky that this incident involved an arrest and not a major marine casualty in a narrow sea channel with large commercial traffic and recreational boating.”
The Coast Guard works closely with partner agencies like the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
– See more at: http://www.uscgnews.com/go/doc/4007/1852398/#sthash.aoEKOT7n.dpuf
