Correction: In an earlier version of this item, the STX Daisy was described as a 20-ton freighter. The U.S. Attorney's Office has corrected that weight. The ship is a 20,763 gross ton freighter.

From Times staff reporter Carly Flandro

A Korean man was sentenced to 14 days in prison in Tacoma Monday for being drunk while commanding a 590-foot vessel in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Seong Ug Sin, the captain of the STX Daisy, was arrested April 14 after a Coast Guard inspection crew searched the ship and found that Sin and another officer had consumed "significant quantities of Korean whiskey," according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The captain was given a breath test, which showed his blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit for being in command of a vessel, the news release said.

The government asked for a strict sentence, noting the "potential for disaster with a drunk captain aboard" a 20,736 gross ton freighter.

The ship's intended journey was through the Strait of Juan de Fuca and south through Puget Sound to Olympia, according to the news release. It would have covered 205 miles and gone through many areas of high commercial-shipping and recreational-boating activity. The ship was carrying large quantities of fuel oil, which, had there been an accident, could have posed a risk to the marine environment.

"In the interest of public safety, a strong sentence is warranted to deter future mariners from following in this defendant's wake," the sentencing memo from the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

After he serves his 14 days, the captain will be under supervised release for six months. During that time, he is forbidden to sail in United States waters.