Tag: court

Tey were found guilty of obstructing authorities Two Canadians who were arrested Monday by Greek coast guard officials after their flotilla was stopped in Crete were handed suspended sentences and released on probation Wednesday.Soha Kneen, an Ottawa woman in her 30s; and Sandra Ruch, 50, of Toronto, appeared in court after they were arrested and detained overnight Monday in Crete's port authority office, according to a statement released by the group.Kneen, arrested along with Australian Michael Coleman, was found guilty of obstructing authorities, who were trying to chase the Canadian vessel. The two were in canoes cheering at the Tahrir as it sailed away before it was stopped by armed coast guards for trying to break a ban on Gaza-bound ships leaving Greek ports.Ruch, whose signature is on most pieces of documentation for the project, faced criminal charges for allowing the ship to leave without proper authorization.The trio received suspended sentences on Wednesday and are on probation for three years. They can remain in the country as long as they don't reoffend during the probation period.The remaining 40 activists, including 30 Canadians, on board were promised they wouldn't be arrested if they left the flotilla.On Tuesday, Montreal-based spokesman Ehab Lotayef ...

The cargo was lost when the vessel sank off the Greek island of Skyros A recent decision of the Milan Court of Appeal raises significant issues of interpretation for the Classification Clause in cargo insurance policies.Facts proceedings were originally issued by the intended recipient of a cargo of steel pipes that had been loaded on the general cargo vessel Medtrader in Constanta, Romania, for carriage to Chioggia, Italy. The cargo was lost when the vessel sank off the Greek island of Skyros.The goods had been purchased by the intended recipient, an Italian company, on cost and freight terms. Insurance for the cargo had been arranged by the company's forwarding agents, stipulating an insurance policy with an Italian underwriter.The policy had been concluded by using an Italian form entitled "Polizza Italiana di Assicurazione Merci Trasportate 1983", which referred to the Institute Cargo Clauses (C) (January 1 1982) and to the Institute Classification Clause (January 1 2001), both of which provide that English law applies.According to the Institute Classification Clause, the insurance agreed in a policy applies only to cargoes carried by vessels classed with a classification society that is a member or associate member of the International Association of Classification Societies ...

Guilty of attacking two French fishing vessels last year Five Somali pirates were jailed for 18 years each by Supreme Court judge Duncan Gaswaga, who found them guilty of attacking two French fishing vessels last year.He said the prosecution which was led by Michael Mulkerrins had proved the five were part of a group that attacked the vessels Cap Ste Marie and Talenduic on November 17, 2010.The pirates fired rocket propelled grenades and automatic weapons at the vessels.They fled when armed guards on the ships opened fire, but returned to attack the ships several times before sailing away.Judge Gaswaga said while people who commit crimes on land can hide behind bushes, crowds or buildings, after abandoning their means of transport, the environment in which pirates operate does not present such options. Pirates can flee the scene of attack but can never hide on the open seas; neither can they abandon all their vessels.In addition, in the piracy theatre, even when they flee, they have a limited travel range and therefore can only cover so much distance in a given timeframe. This works against them.In the instant case, the pirate action group covered a short distance and was unable to escape ...

The men were not being held illegally ly, but by the shipping agent with Indian police protection The Madras High Court in India has agreed to release crewmembers of the Panama-flagged Mirach, who were detained in a hotel in Nagerkoil, Tamil Nadu since their ship sunk on 4 April.The ruling, on 27 June, follows a petition brought by ITF inspector K Sreekumar calling for their immediate release. The seven Azerbaijan and Turkish seafarers flew home on 29 June; an eighth detained crewmember, the second officer, had been allowed to return home earlier following the death of his father. A further 15 crewmembers who were also detained following the accident had been allowed to go home previously.The success of the petition follows an earlier court claim that the men were not being held illegally, but by the shipping agent with Indian police protection. The police had confiscated the seafarers passports. In the petition, K Sreekumar cited the IMO/ILO guidelines on fair treatment of seafarers in the event of a maritime accident, claiming that the withholding of the mens passports amounted to illegal detention.The Mirachs Turkish captain, Oktay Cullu, told the Times of India: We thank the ITF, Sailors Helpline and the ...

They worry about the impact on the city Several environmental groups are suing in the ongoing dispute overcruise ships calling in Charleston.Michelle Sinkler of theSouth Carolina Coastal Conservation Leaguesays details of the suit are being released at a Monday news conference.TheSouth Carolina State Ports Authorityand Mayor Joe Riley plan a news conference later to respond.The cruise industry has expanded during the past year withCarnivalcruise lines stationing its Carnival Fantasy ship in the city. The Ports Authority is planning a new $25 million cruise terminal.Environmentalists and neighborhood residents worry about the impact on the city.TheNational Trust for Historic Preservationis expected to announce Wednesday whether Charleston will make the list of the nation's 11 most endangered historic places because of the cruise industry.Source: AP

They considered to be legal after court decision Court reaffirms that ransom payments to pirates are not against English public policy and are therefore legal.In the recent decision in Masefield AG v Amlin Corporate Member the court of appeal was asked to decide if the taking of a vessel and its cargo amounted to an actual total loss and if ransom payments by shipowners to pirates were as a matter of English law against public policy.The court found for the owners, and held that whilst each capture by pirates needed to be viewed on the facts, capture in itself was not sufficient to trigger an actual total loss.The court also reaffirmed the decision at first instance that ransom payments to pirates are not against English public policy and therefore legal.

Charged with firearms offences Seven Somali pirates were charged with firearms offences in a Malaysian court on Friday in a move that could see some of them hanged if they are found guilty in the first prosecution of Somali pirates by an Asian country.The pirates - three of who were 15-years old - were captured in January by Malaysian commandos after they attempted to hijack a Malaysian-owned chemicals tanker.They seven, wearing bright orange jump-suits, did not enter a plea after the charges were read in a court in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur and prosecutor Mohamed Aba Zafree said the 15-year olds would not face the death penalty as they were minors.The decision to prosecute came as pirate attacks hit a seven-year high in 2010, according to the Kuala Lumpur-based International Maritime Bureau which collates statistics on attacks, disrupting shipping lanes at a time when the price of raw materials has moved sharply higher.Pirates operating off the coast of Somalia have hijacked vessels in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden for years, making millions of dollars in ransoms by seizing ships, including oil tankers, despite the presence of dozens of foreign naval vessels.There were 445 actual and ...

Somali man in isolation for more than one year Somali man who pleaded guilty to hostage-taking last year in the hijacking of a U.S.-flagged ship has been held in isolation for more year after he allegedly ordered from jail that the captain of another ship be killed, according to court documents.Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, 21 years old, pleaded guilty last May to hostage-taking and conspiracy in the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama in the Indian Ocean in April 2009.In court papers filed Wednesday, his lawyers said the U.S. Attorney General determined that Mr. Muse should be held under so-called "special administrative measures" in January 2010 after a probe into whether he had instructed pirate crew members to kill another boat captain.The government determined two phone calls by Mr. Muse while in custody corroborated the threat, his lawyers said in court papers."The two prison calls identified by the government do not provide proof of any such threat," his lawyers said. "We believe the government has misinterpreted these calls. We do acknowledge, however, that Abduwali discussed piracy matters over the phone."Mr. Muse is no longer subject to the restrictive measures, but remains in solitary confinement at a federal jail in lower Manhattan, his ...

6 years in prison THOMAS J. POOLE, IV, age 45, a resident of Foley, Alabama, was sentenced today in federal court by U. S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon to over six (6) years (78 months) in prison for killing fishing boat captain Michael Holman while aboard a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Mexico, announced United States Attorney Jim Letten. In addition, the defendant was ordered to serve three (3) years supervised release during which time he will be under federal supervision and risks additional imprisonment should he violate the terms of his release.According to court documents, on October 7, 2009, Michael Holman, also a resident of Alabama, was killed while captaining a fishing vessel, the M/V MISS SHARLOTT. At the time of the incident, the vessel was on a week-long fishing voyage and was located in the Gulf of Mexico, approximately eighteen miles off the coast of Louisiana. In the early morning hours of October 7, 2009, a heated argument erupted between POOLE, who was a crew member, and Holman.Source: US Department of Justice

Norwegian government aquitted in Rocknes case A district court verdict that ordered the Norwegian government to pay close to NOK 23 million in damages for having failed to mark the ground that the bulker Rocknes hit in January 2004 in the chart, has now been overturned by a higher instance.The original claim by the companies was for NOK 580 million. The Borgating lagmannsrett has now dismissed the claim in a verdict that states that although the ground was not marked in the chart, this had no significance for the sinking of the Rocknes when 18 seafarers lost their lives. According to the court, the accident was caused by a navigational error in poor visibility, strong currents and a low tide.The verdict might be appealed.Source: Norwegian News