On March 19, the Rotterdam District court convicted Seatrade for the sale of ships to India and also ordered the vessels to be demolished. The owner is planning to make an appeal against the court verdict.
What happened?
The company is disappointed with the verdict given out by Rotterdam district court. The conviction concerns the initial transfer of four reefer ships from the European Union to India. When these ships left the ports of Rotterdam and Hamburg in 2012, the intention was already to demolish the ships which makes the ships categorized as waste, despite the fact that they were still seaworthy, certified, insured and operational, the Rotterdam court.
The court further determined that Seatrade knowingly sold the vessels for dirty and dangerous breaking in order to maximize profits.
Seatrades’ stance
Seatrade’s position is that seaworthy vessels should not be considered a waste and the company strongly believes that the enforcement of the EU Waste Shipment Regulation was not the right tool to regulate ship recycling.
Cor Radings, a spokesperson said, “Seatrade is disappointed that the Rotterdam District Court has not followed Seatrade’s interpretation of the complex European Waste Shipment Regulations. As it stands, it is very likely the company will consider proceeding to The Hague Court of Appeal”.
Fines imposed
The company had also been imposed a fine of EUR 750,000 (USD 924,000) and two of its executives have been banned from exercising the profession as director, commissioner, advisor or employee of a shipping company for one year. A third director has been acquitted.
The prison sentence which was previously requested by the prosecution has been waived off.
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Source: World Maritime News
