Criminal Law News

Plagued by mosquitoes at night and marauding monkeys by day, ship captain Glenn Madoginog was held for months at an Indonesian naval base before ending up in a cramped prison cell, sleeping alongside convicted murderers and child rapists.The Filipino father of four was one of dozens of captains held at the Batam naval base after being arrested for anchoring in Indonesian waters without a permit while waiting to enter Singapore, according to a dozen people involved in the cases, including captains, ship owners, intermediaries and insurers.Most of the captains were freed after a few weeks once ship owners made unofficial payments to navy intermediaries of between $300…

A ship financier’s primary security is the mortgaged ship. If the ship becomes a total loss, the mortgage will provide no valuable security, leaving the financier to rely on its rights as assignee and loss payee (and occasionally as co-assured) under the shipowner’s marine insurance policies. However, the owner’s insurers may decline a claim, for example on grounds of breach of warranty or material non-disclosure, or because the loss is not covered by the policy, such as where the owner scuttles the mortgaged ship.

Germany's energy regulator has temporarily halted the certification process for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, requiring the Swiss-based, Gazprom-led consortium behind the infrastructure to form a German subsidiary to secure a licence.Following are some of the legal considerations associated with the move by Germany's Federal Network Agency, which aims to strengthen its oversight of the project in Germany.The list is partly based on information provided by specialist energy law firm Rosin Buedenbender in Essen…

There are a variety of jurisdictional lines in the water. The first line to be considered is the national boundary between two adjacent or nearby countries. Adjacent countries tend to draw agreed boundaries extending their shoreside boundaries, with accommodations for headlands, capes, etc. Most national boundaries have been agreed upon long ago. A few, though, are not officially resolved. Somewhat surprisingly, of the four marine boundaries between Canada and the U.S., three are still in dispute.

The driver of a South Korean businessman wanted over the sinking of a ferry that killed 304 people turned himself in on Tuesday, potentially unlocking the mystery of the businessman's final days after the country's worst maritime disaster in 44 years. Prosecutors in the port city of Incheon said the driver, Yang Hoe-jung, turned himself in at their office, which is leading the investigation into the role of businessman Yoo Byung-un in the sinking of the ferry Sewol. Yoo's body was found by a farmer in an orchard on June 12. The structurally defective and heavily overloaded ferry capsized and sank on a routine journey on April 16, killing 304 people, 250 of them teenagers from the same school on a class field trip. Twelve of their teachers were also killed.

Seafarers’ suggestions on how to improve their situation when facing criminal charges were presented at the landmark 100th session of the Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) which met in London from April 15-19, 2013. The suggestions, which emanated from a comprehensive eight language survey conducted by Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI) over a 12-month period to February 2012, focus as much on fears of their own human rights being violated as on a lack of due process in the criminal process.

The Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), has drafted advice for masters of ships on preservation & collection of evidence. Draft guidelines on the preservation and collection of evidence following an allegation of a serious crime having taken place on board a ship, or following a report of a missing person from a ship, and on pastoral and medical care of victims were approved  by the Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), when it met for its 100th session.

Tundra International announced it has entered an exclusive partnership with Mr. David Hammond, Barrister of 9 Bedford Row International Chambers to identify and develop new technology based training methods to test personnel on their knowledge and application of the Rules for the Use of Force and the '100 Series Rules' as it applies to the maritime security environment. The 100 Series Rules, created by David Hammond, a U.K. Counsel and barrister-at-law who heads up the maritime practice at the International division of 9 Bedford Row Chambers, are intended to be a model set and example of best practice for maritime Rules for the Use of Force…

With the 100 Series Rules for the Use of Force attracting considerable attention from the key stakeholders in the industry. Adam Swierczewski, Corporate and Legal Affairs Manager of the leading Maritime Security Company, Ambrey Risk, has made observations from the Industry perspective. The 100 Series is said to be designed to ‘alleviate uncertainty’* and provide ‘clear legal basis for acts of self-defense’*. At the moment individual Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSCs) submit their Rules for the Use of Force (RUF) to flag states as a part of the flag state approval process.

The chief executive officers of Chevron Corp.’s and Transocean Ltd.’s Brazilian units are among 17 executives at the two companies banned from leaving the country, pending an investigation into an offshore oil spill. Chevron’s George Buck and Transocean’s Michael Legrand were on the list of managers federal prosecutors asked Judge Vlamir Costa Magalhaes to ban from leaving Brazil, according to a copy of the request sent today by Marcelo Del Negri, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office. The judge issued the ban March 16. The November 7 leak of 3,000 barrels of oil at Chevron’s $3.6 billion Frade field off the coast of Rio de Janeiro occurred at a time when Brazil is increasing scrutiny of deepwater drilling, following the 2010 Macondo spill in the U.S.

The European Commission (EC) issued a press release stating that it is proposing to streamline rules on protection in case of marine pollution. The 2005 Framework Decision was struck down in 2007 by the European Court of Justice. The new proposal will, if adopted, protect the marine environment through criminal law in a manner consistent with the court’s ruling. The EC also issued a series of Questions and Answers on this proposal. Source: HK Law

By Dennis L. Maritime lawyers and others frequently use jurisdictional terms such as territorial sea, navigable waters, contiguous zone, and exclusive economic zone. But what does it all mean? What are the meanings of these terms and how were they acquired? The modern concept of the territorial sea owes its genesis to Hugo Grotius and his work Mare Liberum (Freedom of the Seas) in 1605. He argued, among other things, that a coastal nation could not claim sovereignty over the seas beyond the range of its control from shore. This concept developed over time into the cannon-shot rule and eventually the three mile rule, the first holding that the coastal nation's sovereignty couldn't extend further than the distance from shore that it could fire a cannon…

The Joint Harbor Operation Center (JHOC) — pronounced "Jay - Hawk" —v on Naval Station Norfolk is the pinnacle of cooperation between the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy; jointly devised, outfitted, staffed and maintained to protect what is arguably one of the most diverse, sensitive and valuable series of waterfront installations in the nation. The JHOC established on Naval Station Norfolk in wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks is serving as a sort of prototype for the rest of the nation, with a similar JHOC under development in San Diego. It is unique as, for the first time it brings together the Navy and the Coast Guard in a joint operation to ensure port security, specifically monitoring military and civilian vessels entering and exiting the lower part of the Chesapeake Bay.

Ahead of a House hearing to tackle the issue of crime aboard cruise ships, a congressional memo on March 7 details 177 sexual misconduct incidents, ranging from inappropriate touching to rape, and four robberies of amounts over $5,000 over a three-year period. During that time, approximately 25 million people embarked on cruises from North America ports, the memo said. Disclosure of the data, supplied by Holland America Lines, Royal Caribbean Cruises and others, is unusual because cruise lines are not required by law to publish comprehensive crime statistics and criminal law varies greatly on international waters. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., wants to change that and, as chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Security, is working on legislation to make such reporting mandatory.

By Jeffrey S. In recent years, federal prosecutors have pursued criminal charges against shipping companies and their employees with increasing energy. This trend is alarming not only because it targets both denizens of the wheelhouse and the executive suite alike, but because it relies upon criminal statutes that are out of step with traditional tenets of criminal law and employs prosecutorial tactics which often lead to the distortion of facts and the loss of attorney-client privileges. Recent cases provide a "word-to-the-wise" and at the same time cry out for Congressional remedy. As one might expect, oil pollution cases are by far the most attractive to prosecutors.