As the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency proceeded to seize Tecoil Polaris, the master of the small product tanker Tecoil Polaris, Vitaliy Trofimov, was found guilty and was ordered to pay an overdue $34,000 fine for major ISM code violations.
Specifically, the court decided that the fines were to be paid within a timeframe of 56 days. Yet, the master didn’t meet the deadline.
Therefore, a follow-up hearing about non-payment, including the possibility of seizing the Polaris as collateral, would have taken place at Hull Magistrates Court.
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However, all fines and costs were paid in full on February 7, avoiding the possibility that the court would order the Polaris’ seizure.
Specifically, on June 2018, the russian-registered vessel voyaged to the Humber Port to load lubricating oil.
Concerns were raised due to the fact that the master and its crew didn’t seem competent enough, as the vessel approached and berthed at Immingham Docks.
After the accusations, MCA officials inspected the Polaris the next morning.
They found a long list of deficiencies with her navigation and safety equipment, together with significant non-compliance with the ISM Code.
As a result, Tecoil Polaris was detained on 6th June 2018 at Immingham, after found with 27 deficiencies with eight grounds for detention. This vessel was still detained on 30th September 2018.
MCA Lead Investigator Mark Flavell commented that
This was an extremely serious breach of the ISM Code. In this case, the Captain showed complete disregard for the safety of his vessel and crew operating the vessel. The intention was for this vessel to carry 1,665 tons of oil to Finland, which could have had disastrous human and environmental consequences.
