‘HEBEI SPIRIT’
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the International Shipping Federation (ISF) are very pleased that the master and chief officer of the ‘Hebei Spirit’ have been spared further imprisonment following yesterday’s decision by the Korean Supreme Court that they are innocent of the charge of vessel destruction, based upon which imprisonment was imposed by the Daejeon District Court of Appeal. We understand that pursuant to the Korean legal system requirements this aspect of the case will now be referred back to the Daejeon District Court to endorse the Supreme Court’s findings. We hope that the lower court will decide the matter promptly, and that in the interim the seafarers will be able to return home to their families in India. However, we are disappointed that the Supreme Court did not reinstate the innocent verdict of the First Instance Court with regard to the charge of causing pollution. We remain at a loss to understand how the two officers of the tanker, which was at anchor when it was struck by the crane barge, could be guilty of causing pollution but will reserve further comment on this aspect until we have seen the Supreme Court’s judgement.
More generally, we remain deeply concerned about the impact on serving officers and potential recruits of this case, and other cases where seafarers have been imprisoned or detained for lengthy periods sometimes without charge following
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maritime incidents. There seems to be an increasing tendency on the part of coastal States to impose criminal sanctions for accidental pollution when there has been no intentional or wilful misconduct. This in contrary to the principles in the international Law of the Sea and MARPOL treaties, to which States have subscribed. Seafarers are exposed to a variety of legal jurisdictions in the service of world trade, and have no control over where their ships will trade. They deserve the security of uniformity and certainty as to how their conduct and actions will be determined by local courts, based on the internationally agreed standards, so they know where they stand.
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