In a recent decision, the Gulating Court of Appeal upheld the Sunnhordaland District Court's conviction of a Norwegian shipowner. The shipowner had participated in an attempt to illegally export the barge carrier Harrier. The sentence handed to the shipowner was six months in prison.
The shipowner was convicted for violating the Norwegian Pollution Act's provisions on the export of waste, which incorporates the EU Waste Shipment Regulation (No. 1013/2006), a regulation based on the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal.
The Gulating Court of Appeal found out that the Harrier (previously called "Tide Carrier" and "Eide Carrier") was going to be beached in Gadani, Pakistan, and that the shipowner's assistance to the cash buyer, in preparing the vessel for departure, resulted in significant time and cost savings in connection with the export of the ship from Norway.
The ship was arrested in February 2017 when it had an engine breakdown off the Norwegian West Coast and required salvage assistance. Even though the vessel had documents indicating it was going to a repair yard in Dubai, the Court found this to be a cover story to conceal the real destination, which was a beach in Gadani.
"Beaching" usually refers to the recycling of ships where the ship is deliberately run onto a beach, then broken up in the tidal zone, where no fixed facilities are used for collecting and handling hazardous and polluting waste. The work is often done manually without due regard to the health and safety of the workers.
The Court stated that it made little difference whether the shipowner himself had sold the vessel to the scrapper at the beach in Gadani or whether he had sold the vessel to a cash buyer and assisted with export and scrapping. This means that the punishment for selling to a cash buyer and assisting in the illegal export may result in a similar prison sentence as if the shipowner had exported the vessel himself.
Two of the Court's seven judges dissented on the question of guilt and found that it had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt that the shipowner had sufficiently participated in the facilitation of the export. It is not yet clear whether the decision will be appealed.
The case illustrates the importance of complying with waste and recycling regulations when ships and other offshore assets are to be disposed of.
While several beaching cases have reached other European courts in recent years, this is the first one of its kind to be heard in Norway.
Norwegian authorities have stated that they view beaching in South Asia as a significant environmental problem, which Norway – as a major shipping nation – has an obligation to fight.
For further information on this topic please contact Herman Steen or Sindre Slettevold at Wikborg Rein by telephone (+47 22 82 75 00) or email ([email protected] or [email protected]). The Wikborg Rein website can be accessed at www.wr.no.