OilVoice - South Korean Court Finds Oil Spill Captain Guilty of 'Negligence'

South Korean Court Finds Oil Spill Captain Guilty of 'Negligence'

10 December 2008

The Indian captain of the 'Hebei Spirit', the Hong Kong tanker responsible for the country's most infamous and destructive oil spill back in December 2007, has been sentenced to 18-months in jail and forced to cough-up 20 million won ($13,990) by a South Korean appeals court on Wednesday.

Daejeon District Court found, Captain Jaspreet Chawla, guilty of criminal negligence and violating anti-pollution laws. A member of the ships senior crew, Chief Officer Shyam Chetan (also of Indian nationality), was also sentenced to 8-months behind bars, and fined the equivalent of 5,400 euros.

In addition the ship’s owner was fined 30 million won for the disaster, which caused an estimated $500 million in damages – not to mention the devastating environmental impact upon a large stretched of the country’s western coastline – which is the maximum possible fine for violating anti-pollution laws in South Korea.

The accident occurred when a crane mounted upon a Samsung Heavy Industries barge pierced the hull of the Hong-Kong registered ship, in at least three places, while at anchor. The result was 10,500 tons (80,000 barrels) of crude oil spilling into the Yellow Sea.

Judge Bang Seung-man said that the Hebei Spirit crew members under the spotlight could have moved the ship to avoid the collision and that they also failed to take sufficient measures to limit the impact of the spill.

The news comes as an overturned appeal on an earlier lower court ruling made back in June, which found the operators of the tanker not guilty, leaving the burden of guilt at the bow of the barge operator’s boat.

The accident happened near one of South Korea's most visited and scenic beaches in a region that is home to one of Asia's largest wetland areas. The oil spill, which stretched for miles upon miles, wiped out oyster beds and sea farms, covered beaches and seabirds in oil and contaminated a nature reserve. A year later the area is still struggling to recover from the collateral of the event.

Despite the paramount importance of oil environmental concern, the revised ruling will undoubtedly been seen pejoratively among international shipping operators and seafarer unions, who have previously insisted that the tanker’s group were not to blame for the incident.

The Hebei Spirit’s management company has expressed grave dismay over the ruling – and the case at large – firmly stating that their crew acted with utmost professionalism to slacken the anchor line and move the tanker on a moment’s notice to minimise the impact of the collision.

The accused now each have precisely one week to appeal to the South Korean Supreme Court.