Crewmen were left shocked and frightened after their ship sank within minutes of a crash which claimed the life of their captain, a court heard.

Witness statements were read out in court from the survivors of the six-man crew of the Ash, which was in a collision with the Dutch Aquamarine in the Channel eight miles off Hastings on October 9, 2001.

Lewes Crown Court had heard how the 4,700 tonne Dutch Aquamarine was travelling twice as fast as the 1,000 tonne Ash, dooming it to a collision.

The Dutch Aquamarine rammed the Ash in the rear starboard side, holing it below the waterline, the court heard.

Its crew gathered on the bridge and managed to jump overboard before the Ash sank.

But its German captain, 59-year-old Wolfram Gross, lost his lifejacket and drowned.

Brian Norcutt D'Esterre-Roberts, 39, from Eire, was officer on watch as the 4,700 tonne Dutch Aquamarine.

D'Esterre-Roberts, from Co Cork, yesterday admitted breaching or neglecting his duty to prevent his ship colliding with another vessel, causing the loss of the ship or the injury or death of another crew member.

But the second officer denies the manslaughter of Mr Gross, who was winched from the Channel but pronounced dead in hospital in Hastings.

The court yesterday heard a statement from the Ash's chief engineer, Vladimir Marataev, a Russian national, who was in the ventilation room when disaster struck.

He said a minute later the ship began to sink, listing more than 45 degrees.

There was then a "huge explosion" and a "huge wave" carried them into the sea, Mr Marataev said.

In the water, he said he could see the captain 30 to 50m away, clinging on to hatch covers without his lifejacket.

The trial continues.