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Magistrates Court News

16 Jun 2023

Two Seafarers Charged Following Bulk Carrier Drug Bust

(Image: Australian Federal Police)

Two seafarers have been brought up on charges for their alleged roles in smuggling cocaine into Western Australia on board a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier.The men, both from Montenegro, were serving as master, 43, and chief engineer, 39, on board the 58,000-dwt supramax St Pinot. They have been charged with importing a commercial quantity of cocaine by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and are expected to face Perth Magistrates Court on Friday.Police allege the pair…

24 Aug 2021

Containership Captain Charged Over Cable Strike in Australia

The master of a containership has been charged in Australia after his vessel allegedly dragged anchor through a protected zone and damaged a subsea communications cable off the West Australian coast. The Ukrainian national is facing up to three years imprisonment.A section of the Australia Singapore Cable in the Perth Submarine Cable Protection Zone, approximately 10 kilometers offshore from City Beach, was disabled early on August 1, 2021, and allegations that a passing vessel had damaged the cable were reported to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) on August 3.According to the AFP, the Maersk Surabaya had been anchored approximately 500 meters from the protection zone…

05 Mar 2021

Bulk Carrier Caught Dumping Garbage in Great Barrier Reef

A shipping company and chief officer have been convicted in Australia for dumping garbage near the Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef system.Following a prosecution by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), on February 26, 2021, the chief officer and operator of Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Iron Gate were fined and convicted in the Brisbane Magistrates Court for dumping the equivalent of a 120-liter household garbage bin full of food waste into the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland.In 2018, Iron Gate was on a voyage between Brisbane and Gladstone when the chief officer approved the discharge of garbage overboard about 13 nautical miles southeast of Lady Elliot Island…

27 Oct 2020

UK Police Questioning Stowaways Involved in Tanker Incident

British police were granted more time to question seven men arrested after hostile stowaways aboard an oil tanker in the English Channel prompted special forces to storm the vessel on Sunday.“Officers have been granted more time by Southampton Magistrates Court to question seven men as we continue to lead the investigation into the maritime security incident on board the Nave Andromeda off the coast of the Isle of Wight on Sunday 25 October,” police said in a statement.The seven men, who are all Nigerian nationals, were arrested on suspicion of seizing or exercising control of a ship by use of threats or force, and will remain in custody until the evening of Wednesday, October 28.Reporting by William James, Editing by Paul Sandle

24 Mar 2020

Passenger Vessel Operator Fined for Reckless Operation

The company which owned Spirit of 1770, a passenger vessel that caught fire and burnt to the waterline with 42 paying customers and four crew members on board while returning from a voyage to Lady Musgrave Island on May 11, 2016, has been fined $25,000 for reckless operation of a commercial vessel.The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) investigated the incident and recommended a charge against the company, Panforta Pty Ltd – trading as 1770 Great Barrier Reef Cruises Pty Ltd. The charge was pursued by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP).On March 16, 2020, the company plead guilty in the Brisbane Magistrates court to one count of reckless operation of a commercial vessel…

16 Jan 2020

Master Fined for Delayed Engine Failure Reporting

A tanker captain has been convicted and fined for failing to immediately alert Australian authorities of a main engine breakdown in 2019.On January 31, 2019, the tanker Asphalt Spirit suffered a main engine breakdown and began drifting 30 kilometers northeast of Point Lookout on North Stradbroke Island while carrying 14,000 tonnes of asphalt from from Korea to Australia.The ship’s master reported the incident via email to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) just after 10 p.m. that night – six hours after the initial breakdown.Modelling predicted the possibility of the ship running aground at the southern end of the island…

14 Jun 2018

Tanker Captain Fined for Safety Violations

The captain of a Russian oil tanker is forced to pay £25,761.99 (more than $34,300) in the U.K. for breaching the International Safety Management (ISM) Code in a prosecution brought by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA).Vitaliy Trofimov, Captain of the Russian registered 85-meter-long tanker Tecoil Polaris, pleaded guilty at Hull Magistrates Court on Thursday to a number of safety failures which placed the vessel – to be loaded with 1,665 metric tons of lubrication oil – at risk. He was fined £1,400 and ordered to pay £24,361.99 in costs.The vessel arrived at Humber Port on the evening of Tuesday, June 5, 2018 having come from Hamina, Finland.

18 Oct 2017

Captain Fined after Ship Grounds off Northern Ireland

MV Ruyter (Photo: MCA)

The captain of a Dutch cargo ship that ran aground at Rathlin Island has been fined £1,000 ($1,300) at Armagh Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty to failing to keep a proper look out. Ship’s captain Aleksandr Iakovtsov of the MV Ruyter pleaded guilty to charges brought by the U.K. Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA). He was charged under the Merchant Shipping Distress Signals and Prevention of Collision Regulations 1996 and also of failing to safely navigate his ship and causing serious damage to the ship (in breach of section 58 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995).

10 Oct 2016

Skipper Fined for Dumping Trash at Sea

A barge skipper has been fined £500 and more than £2,000 in costs, after pleading guilty to dumping trash at sea, the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) reported. On the morning of May 26 this year, the barge Beta was traveling from Exmouth to Plymouth, where it would be converted into a floating fish restaurant. In charge of the vessel was Mark Tamburrano, a restaurateur from Plymouth. As the vessel passed close to Torquay Bay, witnesses from the Food Standards Agency and local Environment Health department, who were visiting shell beds nearby, saw items being thrown from the barge, including a number of bin bags with plastic in them, along with gas canisters and a chemical toilet. The witnesses approached the barge and the dumping stopped.

07 Oct 2016

Manslaughter Charges Sought in Yacht Tragedy

Following the U.K. Maritime & Coastguard Agency’s more than two-year-long investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fatal loss of the yacht Cheeki Rafiki in May 2014, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has decided to bring charges against Douglas Innes and Stormforce Coaching Limited. Four sailors were killed after the 40-foot yacht lost its keel more than 700 miles from Nova Scotia while en route from the U.K. from Antigua. “We have authorized the charging of Douglas Innes with four counts of gross negligence manslaughter and Douglas Innes and Stormforce Coaching Limited with one charge contrary to section 100 Merchant Shipping Act 1995,” said Ian Harris, from the CPS Wessex.

12 Feb 2016

Owner Fined for 'Dangerously Unsafe' Vessel

The owner of a harbor tanker has been fined £3,000 with more than £7,000 costs after pleading guilty to a charge of operating a vessel for being dangerously unsafe. Joseph O’Connor was fined at the hearing in Southampton Magistrates Court February 12 following his guilty plea to the charge which was brought until the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. In March 2009 the Wadestone, then known as the Humber Star, sank at its berth on Weston Wharf in the River Solent. As a result, the vessel was detained by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) as being dangerously unsafe on March 26, 2009. At the time it was detained it was noted that Wadestone (Humber Star) had been poorly maintained and repaired and was not fit to go to sea.

23 Jul 2015

Shipper Fined for Dumping Garbage in the Great Barrier Reef

The master and owners of the Hong Kong registered bulk carrier ANL Kardinia have been prosecuted for illegally dumping garbage in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Prosecuted by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), One Armania Shipping Ltd. and the master of ANL Kardinia were found guilty on July 20 in the Townsville Magistrates Court on one charge each of illegally disposing of garbage under the Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983. The illegal discharge took place on February 13, 2015 and was detected by an AMSA Inspector during a routine Port State Control inspection in Brisbane on February 16, 2015.

16 Jun 2015

Master Prosecuted for Cruise Liner Grounding

The master of a cruise liner which was damaged going over rocky shoals has pleaded guilty to two charges at Belfast Magistrates court June 16, the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) reported. Captain Joao Manuel Fernandes Simoes pleaded guilty to failure to properly passage plan in breach of SOLAS and failure to report the incident contrary to the Merchant Shipping vessel traffic monitoring and reporting requirement regulations. On May 11, 2015 the Bahamas registered cruise liner MV Hamburg called in to Tobermory en route from Dublin to Hamburg. The Bay could not be entered on arrival as there were already two other cruise liners so the Hamburg remained outside about two miles to the North East of the popular port. The call to enter came at around 1 p.m.

11 Jun 2015

Shippers Prosecuted for Garbage Dumping

CSCL Brisbane (Photo: Seaspan Corporation)

Two shipping companies and their masters have been prosecuted by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) for two separate marine pollution incidents within the Great Barrier Reef. Tokyo based Perses Maritima Ltd and the master of its Japan registered vehicle carrier Asteria Leader were found guilty on May 18 in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on one charge each of illegally discharging garbage under the Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983.

11 Jun 2015

AMSA Prosecutes Shipping Cos, Masters for Pollution

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has prosecuted two shipping companies and their masters for two separate marine pollution incidents within the Great Barrier Reef. Tokyo based Perses Maritima Ltd and the master of its Japan registered vehicle carrier Asteria Leader were found guilty on May 18 in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on one charge each of illegally discharging garbage under the Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983. A routine Port State Control inspection conducted by an AMSA marine surveyor at Fisherman Island in the Port of Brisbane revealed a record of the discharge of 0.03m3 of food waste within the Great Barrier Reef on October 8, 2014.

08 Jun 2015

Skipper Prosecuted for Fishing Vessel Collision

A skipper of fishing vessel Saphire Stone was charged following a collision with another fishing vessel Karen causing its loss. The skipper, Malcolm Edmund, pleaded guilty to charges including failing to keep a proper lookout and has been fined more than £5,000, the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) reported. On January 22, 2014, fishing vessel Karen was coming to the end of a four-hour tow to the southeast of the Island of Arran, when she was struck astern by the Saphire Stone, bound for Campbeltown. Skipper of the Karen, John Muir, said she went down by the stern so quickly that the crew did not have time to put on lifejackets. The crew managed to launch a life raft, but choppy seas forced it to overturn, and all three found themselves in the water.

13 Apr 2015

Skipper Fined for Breakwater Collision

At a hearing today at South Shields Magistrates Court, Robert Trueman, the Owner/Skipper of a fishing vessel was fined a total of £5,000 plus costs of £4,536.18 after pleading guilty for failing to keep a good lookout. Trueman was also ordered to carry out 120 hours of community service and to pay £60 victim surcharge. On the morning of December 17, 2013, the U.K. registered fishing vessel Grenaa Star left the North Shields Fish Quay bound for the North Sea fishing grounds. Shortly after leaving, the Grenaa Star struck the south breakwater, began taking in water and was quickly grounded on the nearby Littlehaven Beach to prevent it sinking. The incident was reported by a passing vessel. At the time of the collision the Grenaa Star had a crew of three onboard.

24 Sep 2014

UK Cross-Harbor Ferryboat Operators Fined

Carrying numbers of passengers, including schoolchildren, far in excess of its license, has cost a Hampshire ferry company £12,340, informs the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). At Portsmouth Magistrates Court the master, operator and owner of the ferry, Tina Maria, were each charged with four counts of sailing without a valid passenger certificate, and two charges of sailing with insufficient liferafts onboard. All three pleaded guilty to all charges, which were brought by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). Tina Maria is an 11-metre long, single-engined boat used as a ferry between Hayling Island and Eastney, across the entrance to Langstone Harbour. The vessel is certified to carry 12 passengers and two crew.

23 Sep 2014

Too Many Passengers Lands Ferry Company in Court

Carrying numbers of passengers, including schoolchildren, far in excess of its license, has cost representatives of a Hampshire ferry company fines and costs totaling £12,340. At Portsmouth Magistrates Court today, the master, operator and owner of the ferry Tina Maria were each charged with four counts of sailing without a valid passenger certificate and two charges of sailing with insufficient liferafts onboard. All three pleaded guilty to all charges, which were brought by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). Tina Maria is an 11-meter long, single-engined boat used as a ferry between Hayling Island and Eastney, across the entrance to Langstone Harbor. The vessel is certified to carry 12 passengers and two crew.

04 Sep 2014

OSV Master Fined Following Wind Turbine Allision

The master of a wind farm support boat has been made to pay £3,000 in fines and costs after breaching maritime collision regulations, informs the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). Geoffrey Whinfrey was in charge of the Island Panther when it collided with a wind turbine in the Sheringham Shoal wind farm on 21 November 2012. Whinfrey had been requested by the wind farm operator - Scira Offshore Energy Ltd - that the Island Panther take off duty employees ashore due to the worsening weather conditions. It was dark and the wind was gusting up to 45mph, with driving rain and rough seas. Passage plans had not been completed for any part of the journey. Whinfrey attempted to navigate through the wind farm using the safety lights on the wind turbine towers, which is against company policy.

29 Apr 2014

UK Fines Ship Operator for Oil Pollution

The operator of a U.K.-registered containership has been ordered to pay £17,311.01 for breaching oil pollution legislation. The Ever Sigma – operated by Evergreen Marine – was en route from Greece to the Netherlands when 700 liters of heavy fuel oil went overboard. The incident occurred when the chief engineer decided to carry out an internal transfer of heavy fuel oil using two pumps. The heavy fuel oil was not pre-heated prior to the transfer – and the vessel’s master was not informed. A precautionary alarm sounded when the tank reached 336 metric tons (69% full). However, the use of two pumps continued for another hour when the transfer was stopped when the fuel level reached 417 metric tons (85% full).

02 Jul 2014

UK Divers Fined for Undeclared Shipwreck Raids

Artifacts that were taken from the wrecks (MCA photo)

In a landmark case, two divers today have been made to pay a total of £63,500 in fines and costs for not declaring valuable items from shipwrecks off the U.K. coast. David Knight and Edward Huzzey, both from Sandgate, had previously pleaded guilty to 19 offences between them, contrary to section 236 and section 237 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. Knight was fined £7,000 and Huzzey £6,500. They were each ordered to pay £25,000 in costs. Items were taken from shipwrecks off the Kent coast, with the first known objects removed in 2001.

02 Sep 2014

Master Fined After Wind Farm Collision

The master of a wind farm support vessel has today been made to pay £3,000 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to breaches of maritime collision regulations. Geoffrey Whinfrey was in charge of the Island Panther when it collided with a wind turbine in the Sheringham Shoal wind farm on November 21, 2012. Whinfrey had been requested by the wind farm operator - Scira Offshore Energy Ltd - that the Island Panther take off duty employees ashore due to the worsening weather conditions. It was dark and the wind was gusting up to 45mph, with driving rain and rough seas. Passage plans had not been completed for any part of the journey. Whinfrey attempted to navigate through the wind farm using the safety lights on the wind turbine towers, which is against company policy.