ONE of the three seafarers tragically killed in a boating disaster in Cork had spent four months in a US prison for what was angrily dismissed by maritime colleagues as a miscarriage of justice.

Wolfgang Schröder, who died alongside friends Wolfgang 'Mike' Schmidt and Richard Harman when their boat, Castaway, caught fire off Castletownbere earlier this month, had been locked up in the US on charges of manslaughter.

Speaking to the Sunday Tribune, close friend Jonas Lyborg said Schröder was a universally respected sea captain whose trial had sparked outrage in the maritime community.

The German national was arrested following an accident in Alabama in 2006 in which a pilot was manoeuvring his ship when a mechanical failure led to it striking the dock and killing an electrician.

Under controversial US law, Schröder, as captain, was charged with man-slaughter and spent four months in prison after prosecutors labeled him a "flight risk" although he had spent the previous six months under house arrest.

Lyborg, an Alabama based marine surveyor who spent two days a week visiting him and rallying support for his cause, described the moments before his friend's recent death.

"Shortly before the accident he had made a call to his wife Christina saying that he was in a very happy (mood) and that the freezer had to have a lot of room for a lot of mackerel," he told the Sunday Tribune from Sweden. "I think he was with friends who had a similar background and he was at sea and so even though it was extremely tragic he was doing something that he loved."

A fourth man, Ed Dziato, was the sole survivor of the tragedy.

Lyborg reflected on Schröder's time in US custody and his efforts to have him released in a case that sparked condemnation of US maritime law.

"At the end of the trial the judge said it should never have gone to trial," he said.

"He was a committed sea- farer and captain, very experienced and a wonderful person. What surprised me most was that during his extended hardship in jail in the US he kept his calm and his nice way towards various people. He had a lot of respect in jail for being the way he was.

"He was in handcuffs and foot shackles (but) he believed that in the future he would be treated the right way."

Schröder's colleagues from previous ships had contacted Lyborg in an attempt to assist their friend during the legal proceedings.

Then, in February 2007, US District Court Chief Justice Ginny Grenade sentenced him to the time he had already served, releasing him from custody on three years' probation and with just 72 hours to leave the US.

"I can understand his decision to be in Ireland," said Lyborg who had spoken to Schröder about his love of west Cork.

"I think the reason for that is because his wife Christina is Irish and English and they lived partly in England and partly in Ireland. He loved Bantry and the possibility to be near the sea."