The Coast Guard suspended the license of a Honolulu boat captain for failing to ensure the safety of his crew member and passengers during a fatal parasailing accident April 28 in Hawaii Kai.

Capt. Scott Ng was stripped of his merchant mariner's license last week, the Coast Guard said yesterday. However, the company Ng worked for, SeaBreeze Water Sports, was not cited or penalized, Coast Guard Lt. Mimi Moon said.

Ng admitted to two charges of misconduct for allowing his deckhand, Cole Ciliax, to ride the parasail and slide down the parasail's towline and for failure to ensure the crewman used proper parasailing safety gear, including wearing required harness leg straps and a Coast Guard-approved life jacket.

“;Once aloft, his crew member attempted an improvised zip-line activity that resulted in a fatal fall,”; the Coast Guard said in a written statement.

Ng was operating the 35-foot power vessel in Maunalua Bay for SeaBreeze Water Sports. Ng did not return a call to the Star-Bulletin, and owners for the company were not available for comment.

Ciliax, 25, slid about five feet before the rope he was using broke and caused him to free-fall more than 40 feet into the water, the Coast Guard said.

He did not resurface, and his body was recovered 20 minutes after the incident, the Coast Guard said. City ocean safety officers retrieved Ciliax from about 20 to 30 feet of water.

Ng signed a settlement agreement with the Coast Guard admitting to the charges and stating he will undergo a 12-month suspension, followed by 24 months' probation. He must also complete 20 hours of maritime safety training and 10 hours of industry training.

The company's general manager, Kathy Takahashi, said shortly after the accident that Ciliax apparently removed himself from his harness and attempted to use the parasailing rope like a zip line to slide down to the boat.

She had said Ciliax had moved here from Las Vegas two years ago because he loved the ocean and Hawaii.

Capt. Barry Compagnoni, Coast Guard captain of the port of Honolulu, said, “;We hope that this case involving poor judgment and risky behavior is a wake-up call to all mariners, whether commercial or recreational. We enforce our regulations to safeguard the lives and well-being of mariners and the public. It is our hope that an incident like this never happens again.”;