Seatide fined for Pollution

The Maritime & Coastguard Agency successfully prosecuted Seatide Shipping Ltd of Gibraltar, Owners of the SIRTE STAR in Southampton Magistrates Court today. Seatide were fined £25,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1190 for breaches of the Prevention Of Pollution Regulations after being caught polluting our seas 25 miles off the Norfolk coast on 19 April 1999.

At 0415 that morning a Dutch anti-pollution aircraft on routine surveillance detected an oil slick on its specialist radar. This oil slick was 12.5 miles long. When the aircraft arrived it spotted another slick in the extended direction of the first. This second slick was 3 miles long and at the head of it, still connected to the slick, was the St Vincent & Grenadines Registered cargo vessel the "SIRTE STAR". It was this second slick to which the owners pleaded guilty. The vessel was owned by Seatide Shipping Ltd of Gibraltar and managed by BNAVI of Italy.

The Court heard how the vessel was inspected on arrival at its next port Bremen, by the German Authorities, and found to have "a dirty and badly maintained engine room." The German Inspectors found a recent "tide-mark" 40cm high in the engine room and concluded "there was a suspicion that at the time given by the Dutch authorities that the engine room bilges had been pumped". No entries had been made in the oil record book.

The Port State Control history of the vessel, which was outlined in Court by Captain Capon, prosecuting, showed a number of related deficiencies over the previous 6 months, including a detention by the Dutch authorities in February 1999, 2 months before the incident, for oily water separator deficiencies. The Court noted the professional co-operation of the Managers, who had instigated their own detailed investigation. The crew had denied any pumping activity. Mr John Astbury, Director of Operations said: "This was the 9th successful pollution prosecution by the MCA in the last 18 months, since a dedicated Enforcement Unit had been formed and showed that the Agency, together with assistance from our European partners, was strongly committed to enforcing pollution regulations in UK waters."