Shipping Industry Welcomes Bail for Seafarers in Korea

15 January 2009

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the International Shipping Federation (ISF), which lodged a letter of support for bail with the Supreme Court of the Republic of Korea at the end of last year, have greatly welcomed the Court's decision to grant bail, and release from prison, two merchant foreign ship's officers. The crew members of the oil tanker ‘Hebei Spirit’ were sentenced to imprisonment, in December, by a lower court, for their alleged contribution to a major oil spill in late 2007.

This legal decision has fuelled the shipping industry’s deep concern about the criminalization of seafarers who engage in the transportation of around 90% of world trade.

While enjoying good co-operation from the Korean maritime administration and the Korea Shipowners’ Association, ICS and ISF fully appreciate the independence of the Korean judiciary from the government. Based on the facts of the case, ICS and ISF are hopeful that the Supreme Court will now make the correct decision when it rules on the seafarers' appeal, in order that they are spared from further imprisonment and allowed to return to their families in India.

ICS/ISF also acknowledge that due process, under Korean law, is being followed, and that every effort is being made by the Korean authorities to adhere to the international principles enshrined in the IMO/ILO Guidelines on the Fair Treatment of Seafarers in the Event of a Maritime Accident. The decision to release the ship's officers from prison is fully consistent with these Guidelines, adopted in 2006, which ICS and ISF helped to negotiate with governments at IMO and ILO.

With the officers now released on bail, ICS and ISF look forward to a similarly positive outcome of the hearing of the appeal before the Supreme Court.

Note

The ‘Hebei Spirit’ was at anchor when she was rammed by a barge that had broken free, and yet the officers from the anchored vessel have somehow now ended up in jail. Whatever the legal arguments, the international shipping industry has found it hard to comprehend such an outcome and has been concerned about the disincentive it gives to follow a career at sea in the service of world trade.

Note

ICS and ISF are the principal international trade association and employers’ federation for the global shipping industry, representing 80% percent of the world merchant fleet and with a membership of national shipowners’ associations in 40 countries.

Source: ICS International Chamber of Shipping