Travesty of Justice in South Korea :Hebei Spirit

INDIAN SEAFARERS FEDERATION (ISF)



National Union of Seafarers of India,
The Maritime Union of India

NUSI Bhavan, 4, Goa Street,
Udyog Bhavan, 4th Floor,

Ballard Estate,
29 Walchand Hirachand Marg,

Mumbai- 400 001.
Ballard Estate, Mumbai- 400001

Tel: 22618368 / 9,
Tel. No. 22613052 / 2261507

Email: nusi@vsnl.com
Email: oceanite@vsnl.com



11th December, 2008



Dear Sir



Sub: Unjust Judgement on "Hebei Spirit" issue Shipping fraternity terms it
"outrageous"



The ship "Hebei Spirit" was at safe parking (anchorage) in South Korea. It
was collided by a tug-towed crane barge owned by Samsung Heavy Industries
resulting in an oil spill. Capt. Jasprit Chawla and Chief Officer Syam
Chetan were detained since December, 2007 in South Korea despite being
proved innocent on 23rd June, 2008 by the Court. The matter went into
appeal. Mr. Roberto Giorgi, President, V. Ships, Technical Managers of the
Hebei Spirit, commented "on the possibility of Samsung and Korean
authorities 'colluding' for the retrial to overturn the initial "innocent"
verdict for both Master and Chief Officer, brought down on June, 23, by
another Korean judge". This is exactly what had happened.



Justice was denied when the judgement, which was delivered on December 10th
2008, found Capt. Jasprit Chawla and Chief Officer Syam Chetan guilty and
sentenced them for 18 months and 8 months respectively. The two Indian
seafarers were handcuffed and paraded in blatant disregards to human rights.
This is yet another example of criminilisation of seafarers.



In the meeting held between the stakeholders of shipping fraternity i..e.
National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI), the Maritime Union of India
(MUI) Foreign Owners Representatives and Shipmanagers Association (FOSMA)
Maritime Association of Shipowners, Shipmanagers and Agents (MASSA) and the
Indian National Shipowners Association (INSA) the following was decided.




1. Appeal to more than two hundred thousand seafarers, their family
members, and other proud Indians to boycott Korean products especially
Samsung.



2. Appeal to Indian shipowners to review the orders placed for new
ships presently being build in Korean shipyards which runs into billions of
dollars.



3. Appeal to shipowners to stop operating ships, particularly tankers,
to Korea.



4. Appeal to seafarers worldwide to seriously reconsider before
entering Korean waters and ports as they might meet the same fate as
seafarers of "Hebei Spirit". Such a boycott by seafarers will have severe
consequences on the Korean economy.



5. We have also approached Mr. Abhinav Bindra and Mr. Aamir Khan who
are brand ambassadors of Samsung products to support the cause of Capt.
Jasprit Chawla and Chief Office Syam Chetan.



6. Seafarers are apprehensive to go to Korean waters after the
judgement, in the same way, as they are apprehensive to go to the waters of
Somalia.



p.s.

I agree that oil pollution is very damaging to the ecology and economy .But
here , the Master was not at fault(despite what media might say)

The Master of Hebei Spirit had done everything that was humanly possible.
His efforts were lauded by the international seafaring community. The
Master of was even awarded the 'Mariner of the Year ' award this year.

I hope it will come handy to him in prison.

It is readily apparent that these seafarers were innocent scapegoats here.

This is a sad day for shipping.

And a very demoralizing piece of news for the rest of the seafaring
community.


Received: from C6XB2 at Globe Wireless; Sat, 13 Dec 2008 00:03 UTC
Message-id: 706336576S348