Hong Kong

A seagoing tragedy turns into a mess in court, reports Asia Sentinel

In a case that is continuing to rile many in Hong Kong's maritime industry, on Jan. 15, a District Court judge gave four highly-trained and experienced seafarers prison terms for their roles in a collision between two ships that resulted in the sinking of one with the loss of 18 lives. The case could bring the territory's reputation into jeopardy over the application of rules and laws

The convictions were handed down to the master of the 81-meter Ukrainian oil rig supply vessel Neftegaz 67 which sank, and the master and two Hong Kong pilots on board a 225 meter Chinese bulk carrier Yao Hai. The Neftegaz master got three years and two months, the senior pilot of the Yao Hai three years and the master and junior pilot two years and four months.

The judgment was given by a District Court judge sitting alone without benefit of expert assessors and without a jury – which might have been appropriate for a case of criminal charges carrying long prison terms.

But equally troublesome was that the charges were brought by the HK government despite the fact that its own Marine Department's report on the incident has not been released and in key respects is understood to be at odds with the judge's interpretations on which she based her finding and sentencing.

There is a strong sense of grievance in the industry, and from those involved with both ships, that the judge was more concerned to exact retribution for the 18 deaths than to make a fair assessment of whether the fault lay with conflicting but legitimate interpretations of rules and poor communication stemming from language barriers than from negligence of such severity as to demand custodial sentences.

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