THE international shipping community has frowned at the decision of a South Korean court to jail the ‘Hebei Two’, master and chief officer of the Hebei Spirit, the tanker involved in the country’s worst oil spill.
National Union of Seafarers of India general secretary Abdulgani Serang told Lloyd’s List: “We are very furious. We condemn this decision. It’s unfair and unjust.”
Mr Serang warned of a possible backlash against South Korea following the jailing of Captain Jasprit Chawla and chief officer Syam Chetan who had previously been found innocent at a court hearing on June 23.
He said: “There is a strong possibility Indian seafarers will not take ships to South Korea. The seafaring and shipping communities are deeply disturbed. Reactions are bound to follow.”
Adding its voice, the International Transport Workers Federation said the decision was “incomprehensibly vindictive”.
ITF maritime coordinator Stephen Cotton said: “This is not justice. It’s not even something close. What we have seen today is scapegoating, criminalisation and a refusal to consider the wider body of evidence that calls into question the propriety of the court. This decision is incomprehensibly vindictive and will impact on all professional mariners”.
He added: “The one thing we can promise today is that this isn’t over. The campaign to free these men will go on growing until the justice that was so glaringly absent in this court today is done.”
Bob Bishop, V.Ships Ship management managing director, said the guilty verdicts and the jailing of the two men “was a complete travesty” and an appeal would be lodged with South Korea’s Supreme Court within two weeks. In the meantime, the pair will have to serve their sentence in jail.
Mr. Bishop said the company would continue to support both men and their families.
He said the company was making its own feelings known to the Korean authorities and added that the Indian government also planned to raise the issue with the South Korean government.
Mr. Bishop added: “The very fact they were paraded outside the court in handcuffs shows the decision was intended to assuage Korean public opinion”.
About 100 residents of the area affected by the spill clapped outside court after the judges issued their judgment. “We are satisfied with the verdict,” one told Agence France Presse.
The appeal court in Daejeon jailed Capt Chawla for 18 months and fined him Won20m after finding him guilty on two charges related to the oil spill. The court said Capt Chawla should have gone full astern to drag anchor to prevent the collision with the drifting crane barge Samsung No 1 which had earlier broken its tow.
The court said the master should not have pumped inert gas into the tanker’s cargo holds because it increased the spillage of oil when the explosive risk was low. It added the Hebei Spirit should have been ballasted to create a 10 degree list which would have prevented the oil spill, while three and a half hours to transfer oil between cargo tanks was too long.
Mr Chetan was sentenced to eight months in prison and fined Won10m after being criticised by the three appeal court judges. They said Mr Chetan should have been more vigilant and called the master by 0550 hours.
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