A court in Northern Ireland has heard that the captain of a cargo ship involved in a collision with a passenger ferry in Belfast Lough could face two years in jail.
Newtownards Magistrates' Court was also told today that 55-year-old Miroslaw Pozniak has been sacked by the shipping company he worked for.
Prosecutors said they had decided to take the case against the polish national to a Crown court.
He has already indicated he will plead guilty to being over the alcohol limit when his vessel collided with the ferry last Wednesday.
During a brief hearing today, a lawyer for the Public Prosecution Service told District Judge Mark Hamill the maximum penalty for the offence that could be handed down in a crown court is two years in prison.
Mr Pozniak, who was again refused bail, was captaining the Union Moon which collided with a Stena Line ferry travelling from Birkenhead to Belfast.
