Spain’s Supreme Court has issued verdict of two-years jail for the Master of the tanker which sank off Spain’s northwestern coast in 2002.
According to a statement issued by the Court, Apostolos Mangouras, Captain of the tanker, was convicted of recklessness resulting in catastrophic environmental damage, overturning a previous sentence which cleared him of criminal responsibility.
Incident:
- A storm damaged one of its fuel tanks and spent many days drifting at sea after the docking permission was refused by Spanish, Portuguese and French authorities.
- It eventually split into two and sank about 250 miles off the coast, spurting oil into the water from the sea bed.
- The vessel was overloaded by at least 2,000 tonnes of fuel and the Master was accused of guiding the tanker in treacherous conditions with full knowledge of its weakened structure.
- The vessel was sailing to Gibraltar which released an estimated 63,000 tonnes of oil along the Galicia coast and forced the closure of the country’s richest fishing grounds.
The ruling opens the door to damage claims against the captain and the insurer, The London Steamship Owners Mutual Insurance Association, with one prosecutor calling for more than EUR4bn.
Captain Mangouras has already spent 83 days in a Spanish Jail after the incident and it is not clear that if he will actually serve the jail time.
Source: TankerOperator
