اخبار
ITF translations available: English, العربية
Hebei Spirit seafarers set free
11/06/2009
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| Hebei Spirit officers Chief Officer Syam Chetan (left) and Captain Jasprit Chawla | |
The two Indian officers known as the Hebei Two - Jasprit Chawla and Syam Chetan - have at last been found not guilty of the main charge against them following an oil spill off the coast of South Korea and will be set free. They have been detained in the country for the past 18 months.
A South Korean supreme court pronounced the men not guilty of causing destruction to property after their vessel, the Hebei Spirit, was hit by a crane barge, which led to a devastating oil spill in December 2007. However their conviction for allegedly failing to do more to prevent the oil leakage from the tanker remains intact.
The men, who are reported to be “elated”, will return to India in the next few days.
Captain Jasprit Chawla said: “We are just waiting to come back to India and be united with our family. The last 18 months have been a traumatic experience for us and we would have been behind bars if it had not been for the efforts of those who supported us and we are very thankful to them."
His sister, Imjot Khurana, clearly emotional, stated: “It will take a long time for our family to get over this ordeal and we will start afresh by putting our lives together once brother Jasprit comes back home.”
Abdulgani Y Serang, general secretary-cum-treasurer of the National Union of Seafarers of India said: “The shipping fraternity, nationally and internationally, has shown that success can be achieved if we take up issues collectively. But this is not the end and we need to collectively fight the criminalisation of seafarers whenever and wherever it occurs”.
Commenting on the verdict, ITF general secretary David Cockroft said everyone was pleased to see the men’s innocence upheld but that it was still unacceptable that the lesser charge against them had not been removed. He commended their bravery over the past 18 months and congratulated V Ships, the vessel's managers, for standing by them. He added: “We cannot however excuse the unfair criminalisation that they have undergone and the contradictory nature of the dual verdicts."
A statement released by V Ships today commented: “V Ships welcomes the decision and acknowledges the hardship faced by the two Hebei Spirit officers and their families for more than one and a half years.” It thanked “the many thousands of people across the world” who had supported the Hebei Two against the “totally unfounded proceedings.”
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