TAPORO.VII

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Struggle to get permission to scuttle damaged vessel

The 'Taporo VII', partially ravaged by fire, on the verge of sinking and then refloated, has been stuck at the dock for nearly three years. The company that owns the ship, the Compagnie Française Maritime de Tahiti, asked the country, then the government, for permission to scuttle the vessel at sea, but the lack of a response twice confirmed the refusals of both authorities. Ordered to leave the dock at the Autonomous Port, where the vessel is no longer welcome, the 'Taporo VII' is also prohibited by the French Republic and the State from being sunk offshore, while the company that owns the vessel argues that it cannot rely on a local company to decontaminate and cut it up for scrapping. To challenge these refusals to sink the former carrier offshore, the Compagnie Française Maritime de Tahiti filed two appeals with the administrative court, which were being considered on Sep 2, 2025. The administrative court's public rapporteur presented two opinions on this dual appeal. Regarding the appeal against the French Republic's refusal to authorize the sinking of the vessel in territorial waters, the public rapporteur recommended not granting the Compagnie Française Maritime de Tahiti's request, as the appeal was filed out of time. However, there may still be a way out for the 'Taporo VII' on the State's side. The High Commission's lack of response, which amounted to a refusal, was not supported by a request from the State to provide the shipping company with additional documents missing from the file (impact study, etc.). This, at least, is what the public rapporteur stated on this specific point.The administration should have requested additional documents. By not doing so, it has committed an offense, and the public rapporteur requested the annulment of the High Commission's implicit rejection decision. The administrative court will deliver its decision on Sep 16. If both requests are rejected, the 'Taporo VII' would be both ordered to leave the Autonomous Port dock and prohibited from being sunk, which would force the parent company to consider another, much more expensive option.