Tag: court

Merchant vessel collision with a warship The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay a Bombay high court order permitting a Cyprus merchant vessel MW Nordlake, which allegedly rammed into and sank a Rs 1,058-crore Indian Navy Ship, to leave Indian shores after furnishing a bank guarantee of Rs 46.87 crore.A bench of Justices H L Dattu and C K Prasad issued notice on the Centre's appeal to the owners of MV Nordlake, but refused to stay the high court's decision to leave Indian shores after paying an amount equivalent to the ship's value. The vessel would now be able to set sail from the Mumbai coast after a single judge bench of the high court accepts the final valuation report.On January 30, 2011, navigators of MV Nordlake as well as the naval warship did not see each other leading to the head-on collision.The Nilgiri class frigate, INS Vindhyagiri, was hit by the container-laden Cyprus flag flying MV Nordlake near Sunk Rock Lighthouse off Mumbai causing severe damage to the warship's structural integrity leading to its total loss.During the hearing, the bench wondered how a merchant vessel could collide into a warship which technically remained vigilant 24x7 more so when ...

They are sentenced to a 20-year jail term for attacking a French naval ship. Eleven Somalis were on Thursday sentenced to a 20-year jail term for attacking a French naval ship. Mombasa court Principal magistrate Mr S.K.Gacheru declined to have the accused serve their sentence in Somalia as they had pleaded during mitigation.Mr Gacheru instead ordered that they be deported to Somalia upon completion of their sentence.The court noted that the offence was serious and that it had endangered the lives of the crew of the French naval ship, Nivose.The magistrate said the offence called for a deterrent sentence to act as a warning to others who might have the intention of committing a similar offence.The accused are Ahmed Abikadir,Abdirahim Mohamed,Abdullahi Salat,Abdullahi Yusuf,Abdullahi Mohamud,Abdi Dahir,Ahmed Maalim,Ahmed Hassan,Ahmed Mohamed,Abshir Ahmed and Omar Ibrahim.They allegedly committed the offence while armed with two AK 47 rifles, an RPG 7, six RPG launchers and a knife attacked the naval ship on May 3 2009 upon the high seas.State counsel Catherine Mwaniki urged the court to impose a harsh sentence on the accused citing the seriousness of the offence and economic costs incurred."The accused are not of Kenyan origin, their nationalities have not been established, ...

Testimony from a crewmember - pirates threatened to execute him A crewmember from a German ship that was hijacked off the coast of Somalia in 2010 testified that pirates threatened to execute him, suffocated him by placing a plastic bag over his head and led him to believe the ship's captain had been killed during his eight-month ordeal.Ukranian Oleg Dereglazov also said one crew member had his genitals painfully tied together with plastic ties. He detailed the torture aboard the Marida Marguerite on Thursday during Mohammad Saaili Shibin's trial.Shibin has been charged with piracy, hostage-taking and other federal charges in connection with the ship's hijacking. Shibin also faces charges in the hijacking of an American yacht in which all four passengers were shot and killed.Prosecutors say Shibin was a hostage negotiator. He has pleaded not guilty.Source: AP

Public prosecutor said Ten Somalis accused of hijacking a UAE ship should receive the death penalty, the public prosecutor said yesterday.The Federal Court heard the men were guilty of crimes "repulsive to the human self" and deserved the maximum penalty available.The prosecutor recited a verse from the Quran: "The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land."He added: "Islam has set Al Haraba as part of Sharia penalties out of concern for society."The prosecution has presented the case as a ta'azeeri, or secular, crime. This means the maximum penalty would be a death sentence.But should the court decide to try the case under Sharia, a public punishment could take place.The prosecutor said the men "cut off all the cables for telecoms and navigation, set up fires ... placed bombs in the chimneys and caused the injury of two crew members - an Egyptian and a Syrian."Counter-terrorism units stormed the oil carrier MV Arrilah in April after it was hijacked in the ...

He is charged with piracy and a host of other charges for his role in SV Quest hijacking The trial of a Somali man U.S. authorities consider the highest-ranking pirate they have ever captured will begin this week in Virginia under a cloud of uncertainty about what the definition of piracy is.Mohammad Saaili Shibin is charged with piracy and a host of other charges for his role in the 2011 hijacking of an American yacht off the coast of Africa in which all four passengers on board were shot and killed.The owners of the Quest, Jean and Scott Adam of Marina del Rey, Calif., along with friends Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay of Seattle, were the first U.S. citizens killed in pirate attacks that have plagued the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean despite regular international patrols by warships. Negotiations with the U.S. Navy were under way when shots were fired aboard the yacht. The Navy had agreed to let the pirates take the yacht in exchange for the hostages, but court documents say the men didn't think they would get the amount of money they had sought from the exchange. Hostages are typically ransomed for millions of dollars.Shibin's case ...

$500,000 fine and five years of probation for Sea Solutions Steven E. Avery, 56, of Bohannon, VA, Billy J. Avery, 81, of Virginia Beach, VA, and the corporation Sea Solutions, Inc., all pleaded guilty yesterday in Norfolk federal court to various environmental crimes stemming from their activities in the ship scrapping business.Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement that the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen. The three will all be sentenced on July 12, 2012. Steven and Billy Avery each face a minimum 30 days and a maximum of 1 year in prison, Sea Solutions, Inc., faces up to a $500,000 fine and five years of probation.According to court documents, Steven E. Avery and Billy J. Avery operated the defendant corporation, Sea Solutions, Inc. In February 2010, Sea Solutions, Inc. purchased a vessel known as M/V Snow Bird for the purpose of scrapping with the knowledge that it contained a quantity of petroleum products and other pollutants. Despite knowing that these waste products were onboard the M/V Snow Bird and needed to be removed, the defendants commenced scrapping operations with the pollutants onboard. Over the course ...

Suspected to have links to Iranian military programmes The European Union has placed the names of eight companies based in the UAE on a list of entities suspected to have links to Iranian military programmes.An accountancy firm and seven shipping companies were included on a list of companies ordered to have any assets they hold in Europe frozen.The measures were agreed by the EU in December as part of sanctions against Iran.Morison Menon Chartered Accountants is pursuing legal action against the EU after it was included on the list.Court documents lodged with the Court of Justice of the European Communities accuse Morison Menon of being an "IRISL front company, owned or controlled by IRISL, or an IRISL affiliate."Both the EU and United States say the IRISL has played a key role in Iran's efforts to advance its military programme.Morison Menon denies it is a front for the IRISL and is fighting to clear its name. It advised IRISL on setting up an operation in Dubai Maritime City in 2004 and has since offered its services to help the firm launch branches in other emirates.It last did business with the IRISL in July 2010, said Raju Menon, the chairman and group ...

Costa Concordia Captain May Still Face Criminal Charges Italy's highest court ruled Tuesday that the captain of the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship must remain under house arrest while he is investigated for possible criminal charges.Prosecutors wanted Capt. Francesco Schettino to be held behind bars while the investigation continues, but his lawyers had argued he should be given his freedom.At least 30 people died when the giant cruise liner struck rocks and turned on its side off the Italian island of Giglio on January 13.Italy's Supreme Court, known as the Court of Cassation, met Tuesday morning in Rome to consider Schettino's house arrest at a hearing closed to the media.The five-judge panel's ruling was delivered Tuesday evening.Schettino's lawyer, Bruno Leporatti, said in a statement ahead of the ruling that his client had "full trust and respect in the judges and that he awaits the Supreme Court's decision with serenity."The court was also expected to rule on the admissibility of the captain's phone intercepts at the police station following his detention right after the shipwreck.Schettino faces allegations of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck, abandoning ship, failing to report an accident to the coast guard and destroying a natural habitat, a prosecutor said ...

U.S. Chemical Safety Board against Transocean A dispute over the authority of U.S. accident investigators heads to federal court here Wednesday, in a case pitting the U.S. Chemical Safety Board against Transocean Ltd., the owner of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.The House Energy and Commerce Committee asked the board, which investigates industrial accidents, to investigate the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon two years ago that killed 11 workers and unleashed a massive offshore oil spill.But Transocean says the agency has no powers offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and has been ignoring its subpoenas. Last October, the Justice Department filed suit against the company on behalf of the board. Arguments in the case will be heard Wednesday afternoon.If the courts affirm the agency's jurisdiction, the board is likely to become more involved in offshore oil and gas installations. The board, which doesn't issue regulations, now conducts investigations onshore. Offshore operations are regulated by the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency.The chemical board says it has a role to play in the aftermath of Deepwater Horizon, because it is focusing on the explosion aboard the rig, not the subsequent spill or its environmental impact. The ...

Fine of $488,000 View of broken Rena with the stern section missing/ 4 April / Image credit: Maritime New ZealandThe owners of a stricken container ship wrecked on a reef off a popular New Zealand holiday spot have been charged with causing the country's worst environmental disaster in decades, maritime officials said on Thursday.Daina Shipping, a unit of Greece's Costamare Inc., has been charged with discharging harmful substances after its 47,230-tonne Liberian-flagged ship Rena struck a reef about 20 km (12 miles) off Tauranga, New Zealand's biggest export port, in early October.The charge carries a maximum fine of NZ$600,000 ($488,000). The owners face an additional daily fine of NZ$10,000.The ship's captain and second officer have already pleaded guilty to operating the ship in a dangerous manner, releasing toxic substances and to altering the ship's documents.The two Filipino men face sentences of up to seven years in jail. They will be sentenced in late May.Marine officials said high winds and seas have battered the wreck, causing more containers to fall into the sea and spreading oil still leaking from the ship.The ship spilt around 300 tonnes of thick, toxic fuel oil when it hit the reef, killing thousands of sea birds ...