Asia/Pacific News
Environmental Group Fined Over Bunker Spill
The managing director of environmental group Sea Shepherd said the orgnisation's leadership is "kicking ourselves" over an October 2012 incident in which one of its ships spilled up to 500 litres of diesel into the Trinity Inlet in Cairns, Australia, local newspaper the Cairns Post reports.
The managing director, Jeff Hanse, said the incident, involving the vessel Sam Simon, was the first of its kind in Sea Shepherd's 30-year history
"Sea Shepherd is dedicated to protecting the biodiversity of our oceans with our marine conservation campaigns," he said.
"This minor accident is something I am sure we will always be kicking ourselves over, as it goes against everything that we stand for and work tirelessly to protect."
The group was fined AUD 15,000 ($14,100) over the spill by the Cairns Magistrates Court.
Magistrate Kevin Priestly set the fine at the lowest level of a range proposed by a the prosecution due to Sea Shepherd's full admission of guilt and remorse over the incident.
"In light of the relatively minor volume involved in the spill, the lowest level of culpability, the absence of environmental harm, the status of the defendant as an excellent corporate citizen and no previous convictions, a fine at the lower end of the Prosecution range is appropriate," he said.
The accident occurred nine days after the group had taken position of the vessel, and the chief engineer had found a fault in the fuel pump and trained staff to remedy it, but a crew member failed to properly carry out the procedure.
Last year, Sea Shepherd claimed to have caught a fuel tanker for Japanese whaling vessels spilling fuel in the Antarctic.
