Tag: court

Suspected pirates face up to 20 years in prison A high-seas drama with Kalashnikov and rocket-propelled grenade fire gripped a Rome courtroom at the trial of alleged Somali pirates Tuesday, as EU forces blasted a pirate base for the first time."We're alive by a miracle," said an emotional Stefano Mariotti, a crew member on board the Italian-flagged Montecristo cargo ship when it came under attack by pirate speedboats off the coast of Somalia on October 10, 2011.Mariotti and the 22 other crew members managed to avoid being taken hostage by the pirates by sealing themselves in a special area of the engine room and overriding the pirates' attempts to steer the ship towards Somalia."I sent an SOS signal from our satellite phone. When we saw them loading a second grenade, we ran to the citadel," said Mariotti, looking at the eight suspected pirates behind bars on the defendants' benches.The first grenade hit the Montecristo's chimneystack -- the second one detonated a few second later after the crew fled, blowing up the bridge.The crew remained locked for more than 24 hours with no contact with the outside world, as the pirates used explosives and crowbars to try to force their way ...

Guilty to illegally dumping food waste in area of the Great Barrier Reef In the Townsville Magistrates Court on 30 April 2012 the Master and owners of the Antigua & Barbuda registered bulk carrier Pantanal each pleaded guilty to illegally dumping food waste in a prohibited discharge area of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.The successful prosecution was the result of an Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) investigation into the incident which occurred on 8 July 2011.The magistrate found that there was sufficient evidence to establish that the Pantanal was the source of the garbage and that the incident involved a breach of the Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983 (the Act). Additional restrictions on the discharge of garbage from ships at sea come into effect from 1 July 2013.The ship's Master was fined $500 while the owner was fined $5000. Convictions were recorded against both parties.AMSA is committed to ensuring that the disposal of waste at sea meets the prescribed requirements and will follow up breaches of the Act to the full extent of the law. Source: AMSA

Testimony from one Somali pirate serving six years in prison Very few of the Somali-based pirates who plague the Indian Ocean have been brought to justice, partly as a result of the lack of government in Somalia. But several are being held at Hargeisa prison in Somaliland - an internationally unrecognised state which broke away from Somalia in 1991.One Somali pirate serving six years in prison told the BBC's Simon Reeve that he thought the piracy was justified even though it has become a multi-million dollar criminal industry and there have been cases of hostages and ship's crew being killed.Click here to watch BBC videoSource: BBC

Death penalty against three Somalis charged with murder in the fatal shooting Federal prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty against three Somalis charged with murder in the fatal shooting of four Americans aboard a hijacked yacht last year, according to a court document unsealed Tuesday.Ahmed Muse Salad, Abukar Osman Beyle and Shani Nurani Shiekh Abrar could also face the death penalty on numerous other charges related to the February, 2011 hijacking. They include hostage taking resulting in death, violence against maritime navigation resulting in death and kidnapping resulting in death. In total, 22 of the 26 counts are death-eligible offenses.The decision to seek the death penalty is made by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Prosecutors were required to tell the court if they planned to seek the death penalty before the Somalis' trial started. A status hearing to set a trial date is scheduled for May 22. Each of the men have pleaded not guilty.The court filing outlines the reasons behind the decision to seek the death penalty. Among them, prosecutors say the men killed or attempted to kill more than one person during a single episode. It also says their actions endangered the U.S. military and that ...

For the highjacking of a Spanish fishing boat On May 3, 2011, the Spanish National Court sentenced two Somali pirates to 439 years in prison each for their involvement in the 2009 highjacking of a Spanish fishing boat, Alakran, off the coast of Somalia.Cabdiweli Cabdullahi and Raageggesey Hassan Aji were apprehended when they sailed away from the Alakran and were brought to Madrid for trial. Their sentence stemmed from illegally detaining 36 of the boat's crew members and 11 years for each count of piracyHowever, court officials have indicated that the maximum time each will serve will likely not exceed 30 years.Other countries and organizations, including the US, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UN have also initiated proceedings against Somali pirates as well in recent years.Source: The Jurist

Aeolos in supreme court win The court has overturned a ruling in favour of charterer Petrobras and found for the owner of the 306,000-dwt Kos (built 2001) in a long running dispute over payment for charter hire.But in May 2008 Petrobras failed to make a required payment of hire with the consequence that the ship was withdrawn in June of that year although the failure to pay did not amount to a repudiatory breach of contract.At the time of the withdrawal the Kos was loading cargo at Angra dos Reis in Brazil so there was a delay of 2.64 days while the ship was discharged.The tanker owner claimed on various grounds for the daily hire of the vessel at the market rate and bunkers consumed over the days in question with a major legal battle ensuing.The shipowner won in a London high court but the judgment was overturned on appeal.But there has now been a definitive final ruling in favour of ENE Kos 1, a single ship company that is the legal owner of the VLCC.The five supreme court judges delivered a detailed ruling on the Shelltime 3 charterparty and unanimously agreed the appeal should be allowed although there was ...

Negotiator in S/V Quest Piracy and Pirating of M/V Marida Marguerite Mohammad Saaili Shibin, a/k/a "Khalif Ahmed Shibin," a/k/a "Shibin," 50, of Somalia, was convicted today by a federal jury in Norfolk, for his involvement in the pirating of an American yacht, the S/V Quest, and taking hostage four U.S. citizens, who were ultimately killed before their release could be secured, and of the pirating of the M/V Marida Marguerite.Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Janice K. Fedarcyk, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the FBI's New York Field Office; and John Boles, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement. Shibin is scheduled to be sentenced on August 13, 2012."Today's verdict marks the conviction of the highest-ranking Somali pirate ever brought to the United States," said U.S. Attorney MacBride. "Mr. Shibin was convicted as a part of a hijacking that resulted in the summary execution of four Americans. He was among an elite fraternity of pirate negotiators - the vital link to any successful pirate attack. His skills were essential to obtain a ransom for those who attacked the vessel and the financiers who paid for the attack.""Mr. Shibin's actions resulted in ...

Enrica Lexie, would not be allowed to sail off the Kerala coast unless there was an assurance The Supreme Court on Tuesday warned that Italian ship Enrica Lexie involved in the killings of two fishermen would not be allowed to sail off the Kerala coast unless there was an assurance that marines and other staff, who were witnesses in the case, would be produced as and when required during the trial in the case.A bench of Justices R M Lodha and H L Gokhale allowed the Italy government to clarify its stand by Wednesday morning in this regard. "If you don't assure us, it is simple, we can't allow the ship to go otherwise," the bench told senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the Republic of Italy.Salve submitted "no court here could ask us to do anything as we claimed sovereign immunity under the laws of the sea.""It is quite strange, you have applied for admiralty suit and now questioning the jurisdiction of Indian laws," the court said.The apex court on Monday questioned the agreement entered into by the Italy government on April 24 and Doramma, wife of one of the deceased fishermen, after paying her Rs 1 crore and ...

Regarding SV Quest case A Somali pirate, who acted as the primary negotiator duringkidnap-ransom negotiations, was convictedFriday by a federal jury in Norfolk, Virginia, for his involvement in the abductionof Americans onboard ayacht, the S/V Quest. He and his fellow pirates tookfour U.S. citizens hostage andultimately killed them before their release could be secured by U.S. special forces.Mohammad Saaili Shibin, a/k/a "Khalif Ahmed Shibin," a/k/a "Shibin,"was found guilty of all counts of a superseding indictment which charged him with serving as the ransom negotiator for conspirators. Shibin was also found guilty of all counts relating to the attack on the Quest. A full list of the charges and their penalties are provided below:* two counts of piracy under the law of nations, which each carry a mandatory penalty of life in prison;* two counts of conspiracy to commit hostage taking, which each carry a penalty of up to life in prison;* two counts of hostage taking, which each carry a penalty of up to life in prison;* two counts of conspiracy to commit violence against maritime navigation, which each carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison;* two counts of violence against maritime navigation, which each carry a ...

Ship carrying weapons to Syria Security official said that the Lebanese navy has intercepted weapons destined for Syrian rebels on board a ship Lutfallah II originating from Libya. Military Prosecutor Judge Saqr ordered that the crew of the detained ship will be held for questioning.Saqr requested that the military police question the suspects and determine at which port the arms were loaded and to whom they were to be delivered.In a statement released Saturday, the Lebanese Army confirmed weapons on board the ship were confiscated."The Army intercepted Friday off the northern coast the Sierra Leonean-flagged commercial vessel Lutfallah II The Army and relevant authorities inspected the vessel and confiscated three containers with a large quantity of assorted arms as well as heavy, medium and light ammunition."The statement added that the 11 detained crew members were of various Arab and foreign nationalities.Al-Manar TV reported Sunday that the crew was made up of eight Syrians, two Egyptians and one Indian.Tripoli MP Samir Jisr from former Prime Minister Saad Hariri's Future bloc said Sunday he was waiting for the results of the investigations before making conclusions."We are waiting for investigations and we don't want to jump the gun. People of Tripoli are neither ...