The pilot who passed out at the helm of a Staten Island ferry that subsequently crashed was sentenced to 18 months in prison yesterday for manslaughter charges related to the October 2003 accident that killed 11 and injured dozens more.

Assistant Captain Richard Smith, who appeared distraught during yesterday’s sentencing, pleaded guilty to seaman’s manslaughter in 2004. His supervisor, the former director of ferry operations, Patrick Ryan, was sentenced 12 months and a day yesterday for allowing Smith to operate the ferry alone, even though rules require two pilots be working during docking.

Yesterday Smith wept as victims’ family members urged Judge Edward Korman of Brooklyn federal court to issue the maximum sentence allowed. Just before his sentence was announced, Smith, who attempted suicide after the crash, delivered a passionate apology to victims and their family members. “I was on the wheel, I am responsible, I failed in my responsibilities and I stand ready to accept the consequences,” he said. “I will think about it every day for the rest of my life.”

Judge Korman yesterday ruled that Smith was negligent, not reckless, in his role in the October 15, 2003, crash. In pleading guilty in 2004, Smith admitted to suffering from exhaustion and not informing his superiors he was taking painkillers the day he passed out at the helm and lost control of the Andrew J. Barberi, which slammed into a concrete pier at high speed.

Prior to sentencing, family members delivered tearful eulogies of crash victims and urged Judge Korman to issue tough prison sentences.

“My brother is gone, he is dead, somebody has to pay,” Ebony Marshall, whose brother Darius Marshall was 25 when he died in the crash, said.

Judge Korman gave each defendant the maximum sentences under the guidelines, but rejected the U.S. attorney’s position that Smith acted recklessly by not informing his superiors that he was taking painkillers, thus reducing the sentencing guidelines to a maximum of 18 months from 27 months.

After the sentencing, some family members said they wanted longer prison terms. Kathleen Healy, who said her husband’s death could have been prevented, said, “It will never be enough time because they’ll serve their time and then go home to be with their families.”

Still, others were moved by Smith’s apology and visible distress in the courtroom. “He’s the only one that has apologized,” Debra Palamara, whose brother John Valinski died in the crash, said.

U.S. Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf said yesterday she was disappointed that Judge Korman ruled Smith’s actions negligent instead of reckless. She said the U.S. attorney’s office could appeal. “Rest assured, this was not an accident, this was a crime,” she said.

In a separate proceeding earlier yesterday, Judge Korman gave the city two weeks to submit additional evidence to their claim that payouts should be capped at $14.2 million.

One ferry crash victim, Lloyd Joseph, who appeared in court walking with a limp, said the city didn’t deserve more time to submit evidence, and attorney Sanford Rubenstein, who is representing Mr. Joseph and is co-counsel for all the claimants in the civil case, called the suggestion that damages be limited “atrocious.”

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said yesterday, “The city has an obligation to reduce its liability” and monies paid out anytime anybody gets injured. He went on to defend Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall, who came under fire last month when probation officer Tony Garoppolo’s reported to Judge Korman that the “lion’s share” of blame for the crash fell on the Department of Transportation.