An officer in charge of a ferry which crashed into a fishing boat and caused the death of a teenager had admitted ignoring warnings from his crew.

Daniel McNeill, 16, died after the Scottish Viking ferry collided with the prawn boat he was working on near Eyemouth on August 5, 2010.

Second officer Pasquale Miccio, 48, who was in charge of the ferry, appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Thursday to admit failing to change course or heed warnings from crew members about the proximity of the fishing boat.

The ferry had been sailing to Zeebrugge in Belgium from Rosyth in Fife at 22 knots when it hit the fishing boat Homeland at St Abb's Head.

Daniel, who was known as Dan and from North Shields, had been working as a deckhand on the boat alongside his skipper brother Joseph, then 20.

Advocate depute Andrew Brown QC, prosecuting, told the court that after the impact both brothers managed to scramble on to the wheelhouse roof, but within seconds the boat sank.

Mr Brown said: "They did not have time to put on life jackets. Two other trawlers nearby went to their aid. They saw Joseph McNeill in the water and threw a life ring to him and he was pulled aboard.

"Daniel was trying to get to the surface. They saw Daniel's hand and also his head came up to the surface and another fisherman Andrew Auld screamed 'Dan,' but by the time he looked back Daniel was gone."

Daniel’s body was found three months later, and he was initially identified by a pair of distinctive trainers his father had bought for him.

Miccio, from Sorrento in Italy, was extradited to Scotland where he originally faced a charge of culpable homicide. His plea to a lesser charge was accepted by the Crown.

At the time of the collision, Miccio was in control of the Scottish Viking, which was sailing with 259 passengers, 78 vehicles and 49 crew members.

Visibility was described as "excellent" and the sea was calm.

At around 6.15pm, Miccio was told that there were 12 fishing boats ten miles away and heading in the direction of the ferry.

He had replied that there was nothing to worry about, and that he would "zig and zag".

The court heard that crew member Domenico Furio warned Miccio three times about the approaching fishing boats.

After the final warning Miccio changed course and told Mr Furio to go to port and then sounded the ferry's whistle.

Two other fishing boats also changed course to avoid the ferry, but the Homeland maintained the same course.

Joseph attempted to change course at the last minute, but it was "too late".

After the crash on the starboard side, Miccio put his hands on his head and said: "We got the fishing vessel."

Onlookers described him as being speechless and in a state of shock.

When asked what he had done to avoid a collision, he said he had turned to port and had hoped the fishing boat would do the same.

Expert witnesses found that Miccio failed to take early and substantive action to avoid the collision, despite being told of the dangers.

The ferry was "highly manoeuvrable" and could have turned 90 degrees in three ship lengths at 22 knots.

Defence QC Dorothy Bain said: "Mr Miccio makes a profound and heartfelt apology to the family of Daniel McNeill. He is deeply, deeply sorry for what happened.

"It is recognises that the collision occurred because of omissions on Mr Miccio's part."

The offence that Miccio has pleaded guilty to carries a penalty of an unlimited fine or a maximum of two years in prison.

Judge Lord Bannatyne deferred sentence on Miccio until next month and granted him bail.

An earlier report by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) found that the ferry officers had shown "complacency and lack of precautionary thought".