Article by Watchkeeper on recent developments of MV Prestige
There will be some considerable relief that almost eleven years to the day since the crew of the tankerPrestige found their ship experiencing serious structural failure off the Spanish coast, the court in Galicia has finally reached its verdict. The Master of the ship, the Chief Engineer and the former head of the Spanish Merchant Marine were acquitted of crimes against the environment, but Captain Apostolos Mangouras, now 78 years old, was convicted of a lesser charge of “serious disobedience” and given a suspended sentence.
In reaching their verdict, the three judges concluded that it was impossible to attribute blame to the three accused for the environmental harm done when the ship, with 77,000 tons of heavy oil aboard, eventually broke up and sank. They however noted that the accident was clearly caused by the maintenance state of the 26 year old ship.
After eleven years and the expenditure of so much expertise and legal firepower, what has changed? There is still argument about the issue of a place of refuge, which was so central to this unfortunate incident, with a depressing lack of headway made in the International Maritime Organization (IMO) or in regional assemblies or even in national law. Local pressure together with local and regional politics still play heavily over the decisions around the provision of a place of refuge or even shelter for a damaged ship, with as much concern around containerships, as there was about tankers and their polluting cargo and bunkers.
Above article has been written by Watchkeeper for BIMCO. Click here to read full article
Also learn about MV Prestige by clicking at relevant articles:
Captain Found Not Guilty for Prestige Sinking
INTERTANKO celebrates Prestige Captain’s acquittal
