Seatrade fined for toxic ship scrapping
The Rotterdam District Court sentenced Dutch shipping company Seatrade for breaking the EU Waste Shipment Regulation by illegally export vessels for scrapping on the beaches of South Asia.
The company has been fined for EUR75,000 ($60,945) and two executives of the company have also been banned from being a director, commissioner, advisor or employee of a shipping company for one year.
The prosecution had asked for prison terms to be imposed but the court rejected the request, being the first case of its kind.
NGO Shipbreaking platform believes the judgment sets a European-wide precedent for holding ship owners accountable for knowingly selling vessels for dirty and dangerous breaking in order to maximize profits.
“We strongly welcome the judgement of the Rotterdam Court. The ruling sends a clear-cut message that dirty and dangerous scrapping will no longer be tolerated”, said Ingvild Jenssen, founder and director of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform.