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U.S. hands pirate suspects to Seychelles for trial

Over 15 suspected Somali pirates The United States has handed over 15 suspected Somali pirates to Seychelles to stand trial, a move the Indian Ocean archipelago says is a clear signal of its determination to fight maritime attacks.Finding a suitable place to try suspected pirates detained by foreign navies patrolling the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean has proved difficult on several occasions, and the gunmen are sometimes released.Seychelles changed its laws last year to allow pirates captured anywhere beyond its territorial waters to be prosecuted, although it has turned down some requests, such as from Denmark in January.U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the suspected pirates were detained in January when the U.S. Navy rescued 13 Iranian fishermen abducted in the Arabian Sea and held hostage for more than a month."We appreciate the Seychelles' regional leadership on counter-piracy, as seen in their willingness to prosecute and incarcerate Somali pirates," she said.The United States flies surveillance drones from the Indian Ocean archipelago.Seychelles Home Affairs, Environment and Transport Minister Joel Morgan said the island nation had the highest percentage of pirates in detention anywhere, with 20 percent of its prison capacity taken up by the seafaring gunmen.Seychelles says it has ...

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Gulf of Mexico oil spill settlement leaves BP in a safer place

Gulf of Mexico settlement reinforces the view that the oil major is on the path to recovery The deal BP has struck with businesses and individuals over the Gulf of Mexico spill marks a major step in its efforts to move on from the disaster.BP has agreed to pay $7.8bn (4.8bn) to settle legal claims brought by more than 100,000 fishermen who lost work, clean-up workers who fell ill and others who said they has been harmed by the 2010 spill.The agreement does not, however, mark the end of the compensation process following the blow-out of the Macondo well.BP still has to resolve claims by the US government, the states affected and its own partners in the Deepwater Horizon project.None the less, the settlement does provide much more clarity on the outcome of the legal process, hence the 1.6pc rise in BP's shares following the announcement.Tipped as high as 572p in a pre-Macondo world, the shares closed comfortably over 500p - far from their trough close to 300p in the aftermath of the spill.The settlement also stokes hopes that the US government - BP's biggest opponent in the trial over the disaster - will now settle, since BP can argue ...

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Somali pirates accused of hijacking UAE ship appear in court

Ten Somali men accused for hijacking UAE ship MV Arrilah Ten Somali men accused of piracy appeared in court today. Alleged pirates were caught in a special forces raid that freed the hijacked UAE ship MV Arrilah.Special counter-terrorism units stormed the bulk oil carrier in April after it was hijacked in the Arabian Sea, east of Oman, en route from Australia to Jebel Ali.The 37,000-tonne ship is owned by two subsidiaries of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, and the rescue was at the time said to show the UAE's commitment to acting "firmly" in the face of piracy.The alleged pirates, who were arrested during the rescue mission, have appeared twice before at the Federal First Instance Court.Questioning yesterday took place without a lawyer present."Since you cannot afford a lawyer, the Ministry of Justice will appoint one for you. He will present his defence next hearing," the judge told the defendants.One of the Somali men thanked the court and the ministry for the "kind gesture".The case was adjourned to later this month.Source: The National

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Ship captain pleads guilty over NZ oil spill

Captain and second officer of MV RENA - guilty to operating a ship in a dangerous manner The captain and second officer of a ship that caused New Zealand's biggest sea pollution disaster pleaded guilty to criminal charges Wednesday and could face lengthy jail terms, officials said.The officers were in charge of the Liberian-flagged Rena when it ploughed into a reef last year, releasing an oil slick that killed thousands of sea birds and fouled beaches in the North Island's pristine Bay of Plenty.The men, both Filipinos, pleaded guilty to operating a ship in a dangerous manner and attempting to pervert the course of justice by altering navigation records after the accident, Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) said.At a hearing in the Tauranga District Court, the captain also admitted discharging harmful substances from the cargo vessel, MNZ said.It said the men, whose names have been suppressed since they were released on bail last year over fears for their safety, could face lengthy jail terms. They will be sentenced on May 25.The Rena hit the Astrolabe Reef 22 kilometres (14 miles) offshore in clear conditions as it steamed at full speed towards Tauranga, New Zealand's largest container port, becoming stuck fast on ...

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Military arrested following the death of two fishermer to remain in custody

Currently , the two military will avoid imprisonment The two Italian soldiers under investigation by Indian authorities for the death of two Indian fishermen will remain in police custody until March 5 a magistrate ordered today in Kollam.Thus, at least for the time being, the two military will avoid imprisonment.Today is a critical one for the two military arrested following the death of two fishermen on February 15 as the judges in Kerala, where the incident occurred, will decide on two important questions:jurisdiction, will the process be held in India or Italy; andballistic tests, if, after having assisted in the seizure of the weapons on and the affixing of seals, Italian technicians can assist in the continuation of the forensic examinations.The police investigation is also considering whether to place Umberto Vitelli, the captain of the Enrica Lexie, under investigation. The tanker is still anchored off Kochi, blocked by Indian police, and can only leave India if the payment of a security bond is paid.Italy's La Repubblica newspaper has a full report: I marò evitano il carcereSource: Maritime Security Review

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Guilty pleas from MV Rena officers

Maximum penalty of $10,000 or a maximum term of imprisonment of 12 months The Master and Second Officer of the cargo vessel Rena today pleaded guilty to 10 out of the 11 charges laid by Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) against the men following an investigation into the ship's grounding on the Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga on 5 October.MNZ charged the Master and the ship's Second Officer (Navigation) with a number of offences following the ship's grounding.On 12 October, MNZ charged both men under section 65 of the Maritime Transport Act (MTA) 1994, "for operating a vessel in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk".The MTA charge carries a maximum penalty of $10,000 or a maximum term of imprisonment of 12 months.Further charges were laid by MNZ on 2 November, against each man under section 338 (1B) and (15B) of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) relating to the "discharge of harmful substances from ships or offshore installations".The RMA charge carries a maximum penalty of a fine of $300,000, or two years' imprisonment, and $10,000 for every day the offending continues.On 21 December, both men were also charged under S117(e) & 66 of the Crimes Act, alleging they "wilfully attempted to ...

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BP Oil Spill Trial: Settlement Sought By Company

Settlement could be announced this week BP Plc is seeking to settle a lawsuit over the massive 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill by tapping into a $14 billion fund it set aside to compensate fishermen and businesses harmed by the disaster, lawyers familiar with the talks said. In exchange, the claimants, represented by a group called the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, would drop their lawsuit in a court case scheduled to start in New Orleans on March 5.U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier delayed the trial by a week on Sunday to allow talks between BP and the PSC, which represents fishermen, oystermen, hoteliers and restaurateurs who say their livelihoods were damaged by the April 20, 2010, explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and subsequent oil spill.The settlement would tap the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF), a $20 billion fund BP set up in August 2010 to compensate victims. The fund, overseen by Kenneth Feinberg, has already paid out about $6.1 billion to compensate about 200,000 individuals and businesses, leaving about $14 billion in available funds."The discussions are ongoing," said Brent Coon, a Houston lawyer who represents about 8,000 clients who have filed claims with the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. ...

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Gulf oil spill trial – Let the fingerpointing begin

It could be the ultimate case for passing the buck A massive trial over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill heads for a New Orleans federal courtroom on Monday, to determine how much BP Plc and others should cough up for the worst U.S. offshore oil spill.The case is perhaps the most complex environmental lawsuit in history, and could leave companies on the hook for tens of billions of dollars in fines and payments to the U.S. government, Gulf Coast states, and tens of thousands of workers and businesses claiming economic damages from the spill.Absent broad-based settlements, the trial will assign blame for the April 20, 2010, explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. The disaster killed 11 people and unleashed an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil from the mile-deep Macondo well for 87 straight days."You'll see fingerpointing fairly early -- parties saying: 'It wasn't us,' or: 'It was more them than us,'" said Edward Sherman, a professor at Tulane University Law School in New Orleans and a complex litigation specialist.The non-jury trial before U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier follows more than 300 depositions and the production of more than 72 million pages of evidence.Plaintiffs include ...

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BP liable for civil penalties for oil spill

Trial will start next week A federal judge ruled Wednesday that BP PLC and one of its minority partners in the blown-out Macondo well are liable for civil penalties under the Clean Water Act for their roles in the nation's worst offshore oil spill.U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier also ruled that Deepwater Horizon rig owner Transocean Ltd. may be liable under the same law as an "operator" of the well. The judge, however, said he couldn't decide before a trial scheduled to start Feb. 27 whether Transocean meets the definition of that term.The Justice Department argued that BP, minority partner Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Transocean are each liable for per-barrel civil penalties for oil discharged from the well.Barbier rejected Anadarko's argument that oil discharged from Transocean's rig, not the well."Pressure within the earth drove hydrocarbons up the Macondo Well, through the (blowout preventer), and finally out the riser," the judge wrote. "Thus, the uncontrolled movement of oil began in the well. The riser and (blowout preventer), by contrast, were merely passive conduits through which oil flowed."Barbier also ruled that BP and Anadarko - but not Transocean - are "responsible parties" under the Oil Pollution Act for oil that flowed from ...

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Denmark hands suspected Somali pirates to Kenya for trial

Kenya accepted to try four suspected pirate Kenya accepted Saturday to try four suspected pirates from neighbouring war-torn Somalia captured by a Danish warship in the Indian Ocean, officials said.The four Somalis, who were taken aboard the Danish naval vessel patrolling the pirate-infested waters off the coast of the anarchic Horn of African nation on January 7, arrived by airplane in Kenya's port city Mombasa."We are happy the Kenyan government has agreed to try the suspected pirates on their soil," Danish foreign ministry official Tomas Konigsfeldt said, after the suspects were handed over to Kenyan police.Denmark had previously sought to hand the men to the Seychelles for prosecution under an agreement that allows regional countries to try suspected pirates, but the Indian Ocean island turned down the request."We call upon other countries which signed the agreement to allow suspected pirates tried on their land too," said Konigsfeldt.Kenya has already tried and convicted several Somali pirates. The four are expected to appear in court in Mombasa on Monday.Danish warships are patrolling the seas off Somalia as part of an international anti-piracy force to protect commercial shipping.Two decades of lawlessness have carved up Somalia into mini-fiefdoms ruled by gunmen and militia, encouraging ...

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