SEAFORCE

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Latest news

Trial of captain for sea pollution dismissed

After the pollution of the 'Seaforce' in the port of Fos, the trial of the captain for having released more than one million liters of smoke washing water via his open loop scrubber which remained in operation less than three miles from the coast, was dismissed. The Filipino captain of the bulk carrier will be judged in several months. The court postponed its long-awaited decision until Sep 2, 2024. The 6th chamber of the criminal court of Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône) in fact postponed the first trial of this type of offense on Nov 6, 2023, to this date. During the hearing, the Marseille prosecutor's office reclassified the offense as "pollution of the territorial sea", thus increasing the maximum fine from 4,000 to 100,000 Euros. He ruled out the unintentional aspect of the offense, considering that a “captain is responsible for everything on board”. Deputy prosecutor Michel Sastre also requested a fine of 80,000 Euros before the captain's defense obtained the dismissal in view of these new proceedings. The “SeaForce” was carrying a cargo of coal to Fos-sur-Mer en route Australia and Singapore. Following an inspection by the PACA-Corsica ship safety center, the captain was accused of having discharged the washwater in the three nautical mile zone, which has been completely prohibited on the French coasts since Jan 1, 2022.

New Charter fixed

23,300$ daily to Louis Dreyfus Armateurs for 9 months

New trip charter

170.000 t ore, Teluk Rubiah - Qingdao, 7.35 $ fio, 90.000 t shinc load, 30.000 t shinc discharge, December 1 - 2, Vale