Regulatory

By Jai Kumar Alimchandani

Non-compliance with regulations is not an option. This can result in expensive fines and penalties for the Company as well as possible prison sentences for staff at sea and ashore.

When any vessel is in doubt regarding regulations or procedures, they shall contact relevant shore departments. If necessary, these concerns may be escalated through management levels. Whenever required, regulatory affairs will be consulted.

To reiterate, Maersk Tankers has a zero-tolerance policy towards non-compliance.

The below quoted articles were published by gCaptain on 10 June 2021, and The Maritime Executive on 17 June 2021 respectively. The first deals with the Master over-riding authority, and by extension, his responsibility, and the second article reflects on yet another case of non-compliance with the requirements of MARPOL. Enforcement, which had taken a ‘back seat’ during the pandemic is slowly being ramped up again.

The gCaptain article can be found at: https://gcaptain.com/mauritius-top-court-deniesbail-to-wakashio-captain-master-to-remain-in-jailpending-trial/

The Maritime Executive article can be found at: https://www.maritimeexecutive.com/article/spanish-authorities-divertand-detain-tanker-for-discharging-petroleum

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Mauritius’ Top Court Denies Bail to Wakashio Captain; Master to Remain in Jail Pending Trial gCaptain, June 10, 2021 By Vel Moonien in Mauritius

Mauritius’ Supreme Court rejected a appeal for the release on bail of the captain of the ill-fated Wakashio, siding instead with prosecutors that the captain posed a flight risk due to the heavy prison sentence and hefty fine he faces if prosecuted. Sunil Kumar Nandeshwar, the Master on board Wakashio when it grounded on reefs off Pointed’Esny on July 25, 2020, will have to stay confined within the walls “Alcatraz”, the infamous Line Barracks’ Detention Center of Port-Louis, until his trial starts.

The Supreme Court rejected Nandeshwar’s appeal on Monday against a previous judgment by the Port-Louis District Court’s denying him bail. Chief Justice Asraf

Caunhye and Justice Mohanasundary Naidoo agreed with the police and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) who insisted that there is just too high of risk that the Indian national accused of being responsible for grounding will take advantage of the opportunity to flee the island.

Captain Nandeshwar was arrested on August 18, 2020

after two weeks in quarantine under a provisional charge under the piracy laws. Two months later, his lawyer applied for his release on bail, but the District Court of Port-Louis denied it. The charges against Nandeshwar have since

been amended to violating an innocent passage in breach of Sections 3 & 28(1)(a) of the Mauritius’ Maritime Zones Act 2005 coupled with Articles 18(1)(b) & (2) and Articles 19(1) & 2(1) of the United Nations Convention of the law of the sea (UNCLOS).

Police also objected to the appeal based on the risk of escape, especially since the captain has blamed the first officer for the grounding. The District Court of Port-Louis rejected his request after taking into account the fact that the accused has no family in Mauritius and that he faces at least

five years in prison and a fine of 30 million Mauritian rupees (approximately $738,000 USD).

Captain Nandeshwar pointed out that a seafarers’ organization had agreed to provide him with lodging. However, the police noted that the premises was not guarded and less than 2 km from Port-Louis’ harbor. The fact that the Mauritian coastline is not constantly under surveillance could also tempt the defendant, who is an experienced seaman who has worked as a captain since 1995 and had navigated to and from Mauritius several times in the past.

Also, the fact that the DPP has indicated that the formal charge against Captain Nandeshwar will be filed within eight weeks prompted the Supreme Court to uphold the district court’s decision. It should be noted that while opposing this appeal, the main investigative officer rejected the captain’s argument that it was the first officer who was responsible for the grounding as even if he was in command of the vessel.

“Even if the first officer was in control of the ship, this does not in any way relieve the captain of his responsibility to ensure the safety and security of the ship, especially in

terms of preventing any accident,” the officer said. The 300-meter long Wakashio left Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, in northeast China, bound for Brazil, on July 14 and ended up 900 meters from the shore of Mauritius on the reefs of Pointe-d’Esny, a small seaside resort in the Southeast part of the island, on July 25, 2020.

About two weeks later, fuel oil started spilling from the vessel through a breach in the hull caused by movement from the swell. An estimated 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil was spilled into the waters and lagoon before the source stopped. Captain Nandeshwar has maintained that it was the first officer who was to blame before the Court of Investigation which is charged with investigating the accident on behalf of the Mauritian government.

The captain has, however, admitted that he personally changed the course of the ship to sail along the island’s coastline in order to get cellphone coverage so that the crew could

contact their loved ones through WhatsApp. It turns out that his men have been at sea since January 2020 and have not been relieved due to the Covid-19 pandemic that has spread around the world.

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Spanish Authorities Divert and Detain Tanker for Discharging Petroleum PUBLISHED JUN 17, 2021 8:16 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

Spanish authorities have diverted and detained a tanker for discharging petroleum on the high seas about 150 miles off Las Palmas, and its operator may be facing a record-setting fine. On Monday, Spain's Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Mitma) announced that its General

Directorate of the Merchant Marine (DGMM) had ordered the master of the tanker Aldan - which was under way in the Mediterranean, bound for Piraeus - to divert to Almeria. A Spanish naval vessel escorted the tanker into port in order to "supervise compliance with the order at all times."

10 days earlier, a satellite operated by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) observed the Aldan allegedly carrying out an illegal discharge of

hydrocarbons at a position about 150 miles to the northwest of La Palma - within Spain's EEZ. According to the ministry, the spill contaminated about 20 square miles of the sea.

The Maritime Captaincy of Almería has opened an investigation into the vessel's activities and is holding the ship in detention pending the deposit of a bond. Given the size of the pollution event, the agency said that the operator could face "one of the highest sanctions

imposed so far by the General Directorate of the Merchant Marine."

Upon the vessel's arrival in Almería, port state control inspectors recorded issues with her sewage plant, radio log, charts, compass, emergency generator, EPIRB, SART, railings, liferafts, drills and ISM code compliance, giving additional grounds for detention.

The 2003-built Aldan is owned and operated by a singlevessel company in the UAE, Muhit Maritime, which took possession of the ship in December. Aldan has no prior history of detentions.

Discharging untreated oily waste is an unlawful cost-saving practice, and it has been banned since MARPOL entered into force in 1983. However, it still occurs on a regular basis, particularly in certain regions. Indian government researchers have suggested that intentional discharges from tankers are so common in the Arabian Sea that they are a source of chronic tarball pollution on the shores of Goa.

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