Christopher Morrison, facing a bench trial for littering on Jan. 22 in connection with a sunken vessel, asked to be excused from the docket call. No reason was given. His trial will be postponed.

Morrison owns the Minesweeper, a World War II era British vessel, which sank in a blizzard on Jan. 6, 2018. Efforts to force Morrison to salvage the vessel by other civil means were unsuccessful. In the fall, then-District Attorney Jon Liberman filed a charge of Littering against Morrison. He did not accept the civil penalty, so the case went to trial. If convicted, Morrison could face up to triple the cost to raise and remove the ship, as well as court costs and fees.