THE international shipping community reacted with fury today after a
South Korean court jailed 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 Won 10m
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. They also slammed Mr Chetan for pumping inert gas into the cargo
holds and taking too long to transfer oil between the holds.
Hebei Ocean Shipping, which owned the Hong Kong-flagged tanker was fined Won30m.
Ironically, Capt Chawla and Mr Chetan were sent to prison on International Human Rights Day.
Mr Bishop said the incarceration of the two men on such an auspicious day was “the final indignity”.
In what could be seen as a further insult, the appeal court slashed the
prison terms for two of the two tug captains directly involved in the
incident. One captain had his jail term cut from three years to 30
months, while the other had his sentence reduced from one year to eight
months.
The court also confirmed a Won30m fine on Samsung Heavy Industries,
which owned the crane barge and tugs involved in the collision. The
master of the barge, who was asleep until almost the collision
occurred, who was exonerated at the June hearing, was jailed for 18
months.
The accident occurred after the Samsung No 1 broke its tow and drifted in stormy conditions before colliding with the fully loaded 260,000 dwt Hebei Spirit
which was at anchor. The crane barge holed three of the tanker’s cargo
tanks spewing more than 10,500 tonnes of oil into the sea which
polluted a vast strretch of Korea’s west coast causing its worst
environmental disaster.
A probe by Korean investigators has been strongly condemned by an expert witnesses as being biased against the tanker.
Mr Serang and fellow union colleagues heard the verdict after a meeting
today with the South Korean consul-general. “It really upset all of us.
Goodwill between India and South Korea has been eroded by the
judgment,” he added.
Adding its voice to chorus of anger against the court’s decision,
Intermanager general secretary Guy Morel said: “It is unacceptable that
these two dedicated seafarers should be treated in this way. They have
behaved professionally throughout this sorry affair and are being made
scapegoats by South Korea.”
He added: “These men followed correct procedures and ensured lives were
protected but have been unfairly criminalised as a result. We believe
that the evidence against them was flawed and manipulated and we will
campaign vigorously on their behalf to overturn this unfair decision.”
Intermanager is not alone in its views.
“All of the parties related to the Hebei Spirit are very
disappointed of course and find the reasons given for the decision -
technically flawed, just like both of the KMST (Korea Maritime Safety
Tribunal) reports - technically flawed and are considering our
options,” said statement issued on behalf of the owners. Independent tanker owners association, Intertanko, also expressed its disappointment.
“Intertanko expresses disappointment with the Korean authorities given
all the efforts of owners, managers and the industry in general which
seem to have fallen on deaf ears,” said Peter Swift managing director
of Intertanko.
Earlier this week Intertanko wrote to South Korean president Lee
Myung-bak, saying that it hoped the court would “reach a fair and just
decision”.
Adding its voice the Singapore Shipping Association said: “The SSA is
very disappointed at the sentence meted out by the appeals court in
Korea on the Master of the Hebei Spirit.
“This is despite the acquittal by their lower court and numerous
protests from international shipping associations, including the Asian
Shipowners Forum and Singapore Shipping Association. This is in clear
violation of the principle set forth in the IMO guidelines on the Fair
Treatment of Seafarers in the Event of a Maritime Accident.”