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SHIPPING industry officials have been left “shocked and disappointed” after a case against Spain by Prestige master Apostolos Mangouras was thrown out by the European Court of Human Rights. In a unanimous decision, the Strasbourg court ruled that the €3m bail imposed on Capt Mangouras was not excessive given the seriousness of the 2002 oil spill. The time the Greek master spent in a Spanish jail — 83 days — was also short compared to comparable cases, the seven judges said in their ruling. Representatives for the London Steamship Owners’ Mutual Insurance Association, the Prestige’s insurers, are already understood to be considering launching an appeal against the ruling. “This finding seems inexplicable,” ITF Seafarers’ section secretary Jon Whitlow told Lloyd’s List. “The arrest of Capt Mangouras was a knee-jerk reaction by a flailing government. His continued detention was a politically-motivated attempt to shift blame in the face of a national disaster. Sounds familiar? The same kinds of forces are at play in the case of the Hebei Two, and it’s our hope that by fighting against this most recent scandal in Korea we and the rest of the industry can expose and end the injustice in the same way that we were all finally able to do in the case of Capt Laptalo.” Capt Mangouras argued that the level of bail set was disproportionate to the accusations; there are alleged to have been “irregularities” in his conduct during the incident, which led to the release of 70,000 tonnes of fuel oil into the Atlantic. While recognising that the spill had been an accident, Spain’s investigating judge alleged he showed “a lack of co-operation with the port authorities when they tried to take the vessel in tow”. The court said it “could not disregard the growing and legitimate concern both in Europe and internationally” regarding pollution. There was, the judges ruled, “unanimous determination” to identify those responsible for environmental crimes, “to ensure that appeared to stand trial and punish them”. The bail had in any case been paid by the Prestige’s insurers, the London Steamship Owners’ Mutual Insurance Association, the court noted, adding that it “took the view that the seriousness of the natural catastrophe justified the Spanish courts’ concern to determine who was responsible for it, and that it was accordingly reasonable for them to try to ensure that the applicant would appear to stand trial by fixing a high level of bail”. After payment Capt Mangouras returned to Greece where he was ordered to report to police every fortnight. The criminal proceedings against him are still pending. “The court considered that account had to be taken of the particular circumstances of the case, namely the special nature of the offences committed in the context of a ‘hierarchy of responsibilities’ specific to the law of the sea, which distinguished it from other cases in which it had had occasion to examine the length of pre-trial detention,” the Strasbourg court said in a statement accompanying the French-language judgment. “The amount of bail demanded, although high, had not been disproportionate,” the court ruled. Lawyers for the London Steamship Owners’ Mutual Insurance Association are still studying the details of the ruling, however sources close to the case have argued that given the serious implications of the verdict for seafarers and the wider industry, an appeal is likely to be launched. The Prestige spill, which damaged coastlines in at least three countries, led to a furious reaction among European politicians and the accelerated phase-out of single-hull tankers in European waters. Brussels lawmakers also subsequently toughen laws so that seafarers now face the possibility of prison sentences following accidental spills. A broad industry coalition including shipowners and unions opposed this last change, arguing that it would put young people off from entering the profession. The European Court of Human Rights is a pan-European organisation with no connection to the European Union Πηγη: Lloyd's List
