This subject has been discussed here before, but it is just as relevant today as it was back 10 years ago:
Anybody here have anything to contribute?
Well, Kuba has a long history of trying to fix things, that are unfixable from confined spaces entries accidents , through lifeboats and lifeboats hooks to criminalisation.
Kind of wild goose chase lasting decades with no appreciable progress . In FOC environment were minimum cost is GOD and this is where He is sitting right smack in the middle such ideas rarely get traction . But kudos for his uninteruppted efforts as hope is the last thing that dies.
The Southampton Crown Court, UK, on Friday, February 14, sentenced the master of a North Sea cargo ship and the company operating the vessel for their involvement in causing a fatal accident in 2021. The master, who was reported to have been on his first voyage in command, pleaded guilty to failing to operate the vessel following the safety management plan while the shipping company was found guilty in a four-week trial for failing to operate its ships safely.
UK Ship Master Gets Suspended Sentence, Company Fined £180,000 in Fatal Baltic Sea Collision
UK Sentences Master and Shipping Company for 2021 Fatal Incident
Indians did it again. Criminalising seafarers from ships having unfortunate accident in or in close proximity of their waters seems to be their favourite pass time.
But in the cases their dudes were involved they seem not so eager to join the outrage and condemnation and finger pointing in the media. Somehow they change tack trying to paint their own as victims rather then perpetrators. Very unfair and twisted logic one may see here let alone the double standards.
Wan Hai 503 Crew Faces Negligence Inquiry After Deadly Blast
" The charges are comprehensive, including negligent navigation; obstructing lines of navigation; negligent handling toxic substances; negligent handling of flammable materials; and endangering human life by using explosives. An additional conspiracy charge applies to the crew’s allegedly unified actions. "
Indian police file charges in wake of Wan Hai 503 blaze - Splash247
" The case against the Wan Hai 503’s owners mirrors legal proceedings already underway related to the MSC Elsa 3, a container vessel that sank off Kochi last month. In that case, the Kerala Coastal Police also registered charges against the responsible parties, citing negligence and lapses in safety compliance.
The Kerala High Court today issued a conditional arrest order for the Liberian-flagged containership MSC Polo II, a sister vessel to the sunken MSC Elsa 3, in response to a cargo loss claim filed by Sans Cashew India. "
From Maasmond Newsclippings today:
In the Wrong place, at the wrong time - just doing your job.”.
Any one of us could be in his place.
By : Captain Alexandros Lignos Master Mariner - Marine Superintendent / Port Captain
Ali Albokhari wasn’t a criminal.
He was a Chief Officer.
But when drugs were found onboard,
he was the easiest one to blame.
Wrong uniform. Wrong passport.
Now he’s serving 30 years in a foreign prison.
No evidence. No trial. No truth.
He became the face of the crime simply because he was there.
This may seem distant to those ashore.
Easy to say, “He must have done something.”
But for us - for seafarers this is terrifyingly real.
We’ve seen drugs hidden under the hull,
stuck with magnets by divers in the dark.
We’ve seen containers sealed at origin,
packed with things the crew will never know about.
You think we’re in control?
Sometimes we’re the last to know what we’re carrying. And the first to blame
Let me tell you what I saw.
I was a Superintendent onboard a 8,400-TEU container vessel in the U.S.
Customs came onboard. With dogs.
They said nothing.
They went straight to one container.
They had intel - they knew.
They opened it, seized the narcotics,
thanked us for our cooperation, and left.
No drama. No blame. No injustice.
That’s how it should be.
Because the real traffickers?
They don’t wear coveralls.
They don’t stand watch at 4 a.m.
They don’t sign ballast logs.
They operate from the shadows
and let seafarers take the fall.
** Ali didn’t smuggle anything.**
He smuggled courage.
He sailed into a system that never had his back.
Now he’s paying the price
for someone else’s crime
and for everyone else’s silence.
But silence is no longer an option.
Because if we allow this to continue,
you could be next.
Your brother. Your Captain. Your son.
This industry cannot survive
on the backs of men it throws away.
There are no borders when the world needs cargo.
So don’t draw borders when a seafarer needs justice.
Another case of arbitrary arrest of a seafarer:
New case developing:
Dutch captain and crew of wreck search vessel N35 behind bars in Venezuela without charge
Captain Pim de Rhoodes andhis wife, also Dutch, are doing well under the circumstances. Photos: Seatec
N35 IMO 8119637, built as PSV Sound Truck in 1983: Yno 182 - Sound Truck | Ulstein
Last known position (112 days ago):
And the piracy on the high seas continues unperturbed as newly appointed members of NATO feel the muscle of the organisation behind them and continue provocations on the Baltic with impunity as nobody gives a hoot about an old rustty and tiny bucket.
It is not prudent for the master to enter teritorial waters of the hostile country as once he enters ,he and his ship may be doomed as it has to submit to the laws and legal regime of a littoral state within it’s teritorial waters.
However the authors are hazy and unclear about when & where axactly the seizure took place as some inquisitive readers may with availabe open source tools discover, that may be it was seized beyond the teritorial waters and forced to sail into them at a gun point and complain about it.
I would understand such harsh treatment if the master was the sole owner of the vessel but such details like many other interesting items are not revealed in order to spread propaganda and lies and misinformation more easily and stick to old well rehearsed slogans.
Ukraine imposed sanctions.???
Wow !! and Sweden want to please their puppet masters by taking actions . It seems obvious that Swedes are sort of desparate to show off with some tangible results of their actions as untill now all their spectacular actions ended up in total failure seriously harming their credibility. They made a hell of a noice , created problems and financial loss to innocent third parties and in the end had to release all the vessels they harassed on high seas due to lack of legal basis and justifications. Assholes.
There is a law that govern even the high seas:
Unfortunately not everybody has ratified UNCLOS, nor feel obliged to follow it.
PS: That doesn’t mean that they don’t apply it on others, hold others responsible for any breach, or even follow it, except when it doesn’t suite “national interests”.
IOW; Selective compliance for me, but if others do the same they are “bad guys”. (There is a term for this; hypocrisy)
KALI mentality as explained in another post