Hong Kong ( CNN ) The captain of a Hong Kong passenger ferry has been sentenced to eight years in jail for his role in a fatal collision that left 39 people dead in 2012 - the city 's worst maritime disaster in four decades . Lai Sai-ming was sentenced at the city 's High Court on Monday . A jury on Saturday had found him guilty of 39 counts of manslaughter and endangering the lives of others at sea . Chow Chi-wai , the captain of the other vessel , which was owned by the Hong Kong Electric Company and had been carrying company employees and their families to watch a scheduled fireworks display , was sentenced to nine months in jail . He was found guilty of endangering lives , but not manslaughter . Survivors recount chaos , horror of ferry collision . In sentencing , judge Brian Keith said that Lai 's actions were not minor errors of judgment or momentary lapses of distraction but `` fell way below the standard of professionalism '' required in Hong Kong 's busy waters . Lai failed to keep a proper lookout and take any effective steps to avoid a collision , according to court documents . The judge agreed with the prosecutor 's view that Lai did n't see the other vessel before the crash . In mitigation , the judge noted that both captains had suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and were haunted by what happened that night , but said `` it can not be compared to what was suffered by those who lost their families in the tragedy . '' Thirty nine people , including eight children , were killed after the two vessels collided near Lamma Island , on October 1 , 2012 . Survivors described how the collision upended one of the vessels , flinging passengers into the water . Rescuers picked up 123 survivors but at least 92 passengers were injured in the incident . Passengers on board the ferries said how they had only moments to escape . The narrow sea lanes leading into Hong Kong 's main deepwater harbor are some of the busiest in Asia , with giant commercial freighters , ocean liners , passenger ferries and private boats of all sizes sharing the water . Hong Kong is home to more than 200 outlying Islands , including Lamma . The collision was Hong Kong 's most lethal maritime accident since 1971 , when 88 people died after the ferry Fat Shan capsized between Hong Kong and Macau during a typhoon .
Hong Kong ferry captain found guilty of manslaughter . Follows fatal ferry collision in 2012 that left 39 people dead . TL;DR The ship was carrying more than 1,000 passengers and crew when it collided with a cargo vessel off the coast of South Korea on April 16, killing all but one person aboard.