Pollutants were discharged into several thousand cubic meters of water off the coast of Fos-sur-Mer in the spring of 2023 by two commercial ship commanders. They were sentenced on Monday by the Marseille Criminal Court to pay substantial fines.
A hefty fine for polluting the Mediterranean. Two ship commanders, one Filipino and the other Ukrainian, were sentenced on Monday by the Marseille Criminal Court to pay fines of €50,000 and €60,000, respectively, for discharging pollutants into the sea off Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône). On March 19, 2023, the Seaforce, flying the Maltese flag, was inspected at the dock in Fos-sur-Mer after arriving for a coal unloading.
The Ship Safety Center established that after entering a three-nautical-mile zone from the coast, their scrubber (a system for washing exhaust gases before discharge into the sea) had operated in wash mode for about twenty minutes. The inspection determined that a total of 1,317 cubic meters of seawater, up to 59 times more contaminated with PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) than the normally pumped water, had been discharged within the three-mile zone, constituting a release of a pollutant according to the court.
Scrubbers at the Heart of the Debate
The defense of the Filipino commander of the Seaforce highlighted during the hearing that the switch to a low-sulfur fuel had been made, arguing that washing the exhaust gases was therefore unnecessary. « According to the judges, the use of the scrubber within the three-nautical-mile zone effectively shifted air pollution—where it was allowed—to the sea—where it was prohibited, » stated the defense of the Filipino commander.
According to the civil parties, five environmental defense associations were each awarded €8,000 in damages, claiming that scrubbers are responsible for significant marine pollution, likely having harmful effects on marine wildlife and flora, as well as on public health when the wash water is discharged in fishing and swimming areas.
Thousands of Cubic Meters of Polluted Water
The second case involved the Yacht Express, flying the Dutch flag, under the command of a Ukrainian captain, which arrived at Fos-sur-Mer on August 11, 2023. The inspection found that this vessel used its two exhaust gas washing systems in open loop mode for more than an hour and a half after crossing the three-nautical-mile line.
Calculations indicated that 5,354 cubic meters of acidified water contaminated with heavy metals were illegally discharged into the prohibited zone. Despite the captain’s statements that he had instructed the cessation of scrubber use to comply with French regulations, the court convicted him for discharging a pollutant in deliberate violation of a safety obligation.
Source: francebleu
