But his first officer, who failed to notice the doomed trawler on his radar screen, was cleared of all blame in Caen this afternoon.
First officer Yves Tournon was exonerated of all blame for the tragic accident which cost the life of Granville fisherman Philippe Lesaulnier when the Caen appeal court quashed his conviction.
The court upheld a suspended prison sentence imposed by a lower court in Coutances on Vitesse captain Paul Le Romancer.
It comes after the Coutances prosecutor who had called for firm prison sentences on both officers had appealed to the higher court saying that suspended sentences were not severe enough in a case of manslaughter.