A tour boat captain involved in a fatal whale-watching collision on Christmas Day 2003 has served a 10-month suspension of his mariner's license as part of a settlement with the Coast Guard.

Monroe Wightman III was captain of the American Dream when the 76-foot vessel hit a humpback whale about a mile east of Diamond Head Buoy. The impact jolted passengers aboard the boat, and a 3-year-old boy who was in his father's arms struck his neck and head on a deck railing. The pair then fell backward and the boy, Ryker Hamilton of Norfolk, Va., hit his head on the deck. An autopsy determined the child died almost immediately when his spine was severed.

The Coast Guard charged Wightman with negligence after an investigation determined he was busy adjusting the volume of the public address system and "failed to maintain safe navigation" with whales nearby. The captain "could have brought the vessel to a complete stop and avoided the incident had he not been distracted and seen the whales at the time they first appeared directly in front of the vessel," investigators said.

Because of Wightman's cooperative attitude and "good faith efforts," the Coast Guard agreed to a settlement ordering the 10-month suspension and a year-long probation period. Wightman, who had no prior violations, also was ordered to attend a Coast Guard-certified Bridge Resource Management Course.

A Coast Guard administrative law judge approved the settlement Jan. 25, 2005, and Wightman's mariner's license was returned to him on April 26 of this year. Settlement documents were released this month by the Coast Guard under a Freedom of Information Act request filed by The Advertiser.

A lawsuit alleging negligence by Aquamarine (Hawai'i) Inc., operator of the American Dream, was resolved in a confidential settlement in December 2004. The suit was filed on behalf of the boy's parents, Ryan and Renee Hamilton, and grandparents, Robert and Sandra Hamilton of O'ahu.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.