Tag: court

Resulting in the death of two American couples Two Somali men were sentenced on Monday to spend the rest of their lives in a U.S. prison for their roles in the pirating of a yacht that ultimately resulted in the death of two American couples.Ali Abdi Mohamed, 30, and Burhan Abdirahman Yusuf, 31, were sentenced to the life prison terms in federal court in Norfolk after they pleaded guilty earlier this year to piracy of the S/V Quest vessel off the Somali coast."Today's sentences send a message to all those who participate in piracy that armed attacks on the high seas carry lifelong consequences," U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride said in a statement.A group of Somali and Yemeni pirates seized the yacht on Feb. 18, and two went aboard the U.S. guided-missile warship USS Sterett to negotiate a possible ransom. But shooting broke out on the private yacht and the four Americans were killed.The pirates were captured by U.S. military forces and brought to Norfolk for prosecution.Nine others have also pleaded guilty to charges related to commandeering the yacht but not the shooting deaths of the Americans. They are all due to be sentenced in the coming weeks and also face ...

For Intentional Cover-Up of Oil Pollution Epps Shipping Company, a Liberian corporation doing business out of Carolina, Puerto Rico, was sentenced in federal court for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and making false statements to U.S. Coast Guard inspectors, announced Assistant Attorney General Ignacia S. Moreno and United States Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez.The company was sentenced to pay a $700,000 criminal penalty to include a $100,000 payment towards community service projects to rehabilitate and protect coral reefs in Guanica Bay, Puerto Rico. In addition, the company was placed on five years of supervised probation and will have to implement a comprehensive Environmental Compliance Plan to continuously monitor and evaluate pollution prevention from any ship it owns or operates."This sentence puts the international shipping industry on notice that there are serious consequences for violations of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and making false statements to the United States Coast Guard," said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. "For its criminal violations of the law, Epps will pay a significant criminal penalty, serve five years of probation, institute an environmental compliance plan designed to prevent further violations, ...

The man is accused of six new charges, including piracy and hostage taking A man accused of negotiating on behalf of Somali pirates in the deadly hijacking of a U.S. yacht has been indicted on charges he negotiated the ransom for the release of a German tanker and its 22 crew members, the government said Thursday.The accused, Mohammad Saali Shibin, is the biggest catch in the U.S. prosecution of pirates plaguing shipping lanes off the coast of Africa, U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride said outside the federal courthouse in Norfolk."Mr. Shibin is thought by the United Nations to be one of just a handful of senior pirate negotiators who operate from within Somalia," MacBride said.Shibin, a 50-year-old laid off oil worker, is multilingual and technologically savvy. Both skills are needed to assess the worth of a hijacked vessel and to negotiate with its owners or family members, MacBride said."Mr. Shibin is alleged to be among the select few who are entrusted with one of the most important tasks in Somali piracy - ensuring a ship's owners pay the maximum amount of ransom possible for the release of a hijacked vessel," McBride said.The indictment alleges Shibin received $30,000 to $50,000 for ...

The captain charged with environmental offences after oil spilled from the bulk carrier The Jordanian captain, Romanian chief engineer and owner of the Panama-flagged Rak Carrier, which sank off Mumbai, India on 4 August, have been arrested and charged with environmental offences after oil spilled from the bulk carrier.The 30 crewmembers - 21 Indonesians, six Jordanians, two Romanians and a Palestinian - were rescued from the sinking ship and then taken to a police station. The vessel was carrying coal, fuel oil and diesel oil.Oil was reported to have spilled for around seven nautical miles around the vessel, which went down 20-25 nautical miles off Mumbai. Fishers have been directed not to fish in the area.Source: ITF

For hijacking a South African yacht last year A Dutch court sent two Somalis to jail for up to seven years on Friday for hijacking a South African yacht last year and seizing a South African couple who are still missing. Three others also were convicted of piracy.The five men were caught by the Dutch navy in the Gulf of Aden in November, heavily armed with machine guns and bazookas.Prosecutors failed to prove a link between three of them to the sailboat Choizil, which was seized off Tanzania's coast two weeks before the Somalis were captured. The yacht was run aground and the captain rescued. But a South African man and his wife who were taken hostage remain in pirates' hands with a $10 million ransom demanded for their release.The sentences handed down by the Rotterdam court ranged from seven to 4 1/2 years imprisonment. As customary in the Dutch judicial process, the names were not publicized even after conviction.In similar cases this year, a U.S. court in Virginia sentenced five Somalis to life in prison and a Spanish court in Madrid sentenced two convicted pirates to 439 years each.Prosecution spokesman Wim de Bruin said the sentences were in line ...

The cost of damage and the lawsuit will reach 1 million A court in Scotland turned down Sea Shepherd's request to release its flagship Steve Irwin, which was not allowed to leave Lerwick, in the Shetland Islands, and declared its detention justified.Citing procedural reasons, the non-profit marine wildlife conservation society asked the court to release the ship and argued that her detention was not necessary because there was no question on her solvency.The court, however, rejected these arguments and confirmed the detention after a lengthy hearing. As a result, the ship will be detained indefinitely until Sea Shepherd deposits a bond with the British courts in security of a 1 million damage suit filed by Maltese company Fish and Fish.In June 2010, the Steve Irwin had rammed a pen owned by Fish and Fish to free the bluefin tuna its crew believed had been caught illegally, seriously injuring a Maltese diver in the process.Captain Paul Watson, the vessel's commander, said the NGO could soon have to sell the ship to raise the money to pay the bond. It had so far collected $442,279.37 out of the $1,411,692.87 it needed.A spokesman for Fish and Fish said the vessel's detention was necessary ...

Review on July 28 Bangladesh's Supreme Court has recalled a lower court's ruling last week that allowed ship breaking yards to continue operating through October, and will conduct its own review of the case on Thursday, a senior industry official said.The lower court last week gave the $1.5 billion ship recycling industry an additional three months to meet tougher safety and environmental rules on importing old ships to dismantle for scrap."The Supreme Court has recalled the file from the High Court for review on July 28," Captain Salah Uddin, an adviser of the Bangladesh Ship Breakers Association, told Reuters on Tuesday."The government hopes the decision of the High Court will be upheld by the Supreme Court."Rights activists have urged the court to reinstate a year-long ban on the industry, saying its activities remained too dangerous for workers and too costly for the environment. The ban was lifted in March.The High Court lifted the ban after industry vowed to adopt strict rules to protect workers, such as an age limit of at least 18, training and proper safety gear, and cleansing of toxic material from ships prior to arrival.Bangladesh, the top ship recycling nation from 2004 through 2008, hopes to bring ...

Charges related with the murder of the couple of S/V Quest Three accused Somali pirates charged with taking two American couples hostage in the waters off Somalia and killing them in February pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in a U.S. federal court in Virginia.Ahmed Muse Salad, Abukar Osman Beyle and Shani Nurani Shiekh Abrar were accused of commandeering the S/V Quest yacht in February and then murdering the four Americans despite attempts by the U.S. military to negotiate their release.The Somalis entered their not guilty pleas to 26 counts related to the shooting, kidnapping and murdering of the two couples during an arraignment in federal court in Norfolk, Virginia, according to court records.Most of the charges carry the death penalty if convicted.The four slain Americans were Jean and Scott Adam of California and Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle from Seattle.A group of 14 Somali and Yemeni pirates seized the yacht on Feb. 18, and one was aboard a U.S. warship negotiating a possible deal to release the couples when shooting broke out, prompting the U.S. military to send in special forces.The shooting on Feb. 22 began after the U.S. military had warned the pirates that they would block their course ...

FSL Trust may lose about $2.39m A Japanese court has ruled in favour of shipping trust FSL Trust in its legal proceedings against Daxin Petroleum which arrested one of its vessels over unpaid bunker bills last year. A Chinese court, however, ruled in favour of Daxin in its bunker claims against Rovina Shipping Company which had chartered another of FSL Trust's vessel.The Singapore-listed trust expects to take back a $1.6m security deposit from the Japanese court if there is no appeal by Daxin. But FSL Trust may lose about $2.39m out of $2.8m it had used to lodge the legal challenge through the Chinese court.The trust is also locked in a third ongoing case in a Singapore court against Daxin and its affiliates, among which Rovina Shipping is included, in connection with the arrests of the two vessels. FSL Trust said it has made a financial provision for $2.5m in the company's second-quarter accounts.The amount of $2.5m represents approximately 5% of FSL Trust's cash and cash equivalents of $53.2m as at 31 March 2011 and is not material in comparison to FSL Trust's total equity of $339.4m as at 31 March 2011, it said.Source: Seatrade Asia

Eleven Somali pirates have now pled guilty Mounir Ali, a/k/a Muner Ali, 23, of Yemen, pled guilty in Norfolk federal court to acts of piracy against the S/V Quest, which resulted in the murder of United States citizens Scott Underwood Adam, Jean Savage Adam, Phyllis Patricia Macay and Robert Campbell Riggle.Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Janice K. Fedarcyk, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the FBIs New York Field Office; Alex J. Turner, Special Agent in Charge of the FBIs Norfolk Field Office; and Mark Russ, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) in Norfolk, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge Mark S. Davis.Eleven Somali pirates have now pled guilty to the armed hijacking of a U.S. vessel in February off the East Africa coast, said U.S. Attorney MacBride.Mounir Ali admitted today that his greed for ransom money ultimately led to the cold-blooded murder of the four U.S. hostages. This latest guilty plea again shows that modern piracy is far different than the romantic portrayal in summer-time movies. Pirates who attack on U.S. citizens on the high seas will face justice in a U.S. courtroom.Todays plea ...