Captain of Israel ship was a sleep at the time of the deadly collision with Japanese fishing boat

The captain of the Israeli ship that collided last month with a Japanese fishing boat, killing seven of its crew, was detained for police questioning in Israel on Sunday.

Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said the Israeli captain of the Zim Asia, Moshe Ben-David, flew into Israel several days ago, but was detained Sunday after the ship docked in the port city of Haifa. Ben-David was taken to police headquarters near Tel Aviv for questioning by members of the National Unit for Fraud Investigation.

The Zim Asia collided with the fishing boat 40 kilometers (25 miles) off the cape of Nosappu in northern Japan on Sept. 28. The smaller Japanese vessel capsized and seven of its eight-man crew died.

The ship's captain has denied responsibility for the incident, and his lawyer, Gad Nashitz, told Israel Radio on Sunday that Ben David was a sleep at the time of the accident.