The master and chief officer from the tanker Hebei Spirit, which was involved in South Korea’s worst oil spill, may not be able to leave Korea until the entire appeals process is exhausted, which may be at least another year.
This emerged as the two men, Jasprit Chawla and Syam Chetan, told of their frustration and depression over their inability to return home in an exclusive interview with Lloyd’s List.
The two Indian nationals have been prevented from leaving South Korea pending a retrial that is not expected to take place until early next year, even though they were cleared of charges related to the oil spill. Under South Korea law, prosecutors have appealed to the country’s high court against the decision by a district court in the Daejeon area of Korea that exonerated the men of blame.
But in a further blow, Capt Chawla and Mr Chetan have been told that depending upon the outcome of the high court trial, prosecutors can appeal to South Korea’s supreme court, which would result in another retrial. This is unlikely to take place until the middle of next year at the earliest.
The procedures were confirmed by South Korean legal sources, who pointed out that there are three court levels in the country — district, high and supreme. Prosecutors have the right to challenge the decisions of the two lower courts if they are unhappy with their judgments.
Hebei Spirit Shipping, a single-ship-owning company controlled by Chinese company, Hebei Ocean Shipping, is also facing the same retrial after being cleared of involvement in the oil spill that devastated the west coast of South Korea.
Samsung Heavy Industries and two tugs captains, one of which was jailed for three years and the other who received a 12 month sentence, will also be tried again.
The 1993-built Hebei Spirit was at anchor waiting for a berth when a drifting crane barge, Samsung No 1, smashed into the side of the very large crude carrier, holing three cargo tanks after the barge broke its tow in stormy weather.
About 10,500 tonnes of oil spilled into the sea, destroying fish farms and the region’s tourism industry.
Ongoing ordeal takes its toll on Hebei Spirit pair
- Lloyd’s List interview:
Despite being cleared of charges relating to South Korea’s worst oil spill, the tanker’s master and chief officer have not secured their liberty
Anger, fear, depression and frustration are among the gamut of emotions Jasprit Chawla and chief officer Syam Chetan have felt over the last eight months, since Hebei Spirit was holed by a drifting crane barge. But the emotional rollercoaster has been particularly harder to endure since both men were cleared on June 23 of all charges related to South Korea’s worst oil spill.
While the two Indian nationals were exonerated, they have still been unable to return home pending a retrial that is expected to take place early next year. And while Korean lawyers and Skuld, the Hebei Spirit’s P&I club, try to persuade South Korea prosecutors to accept a bond that would bail the men until the retrial takes place, the men languish.
During an exclusive interview with Lloyd’s List in Seoul, Capt Chawla said that when he goes for a walk and reaches a road junction he no longer feels a clear decisiveness over which way to go. Both men agree their lives have been put on hold, like someone has pressed the pause button on a DVD player, until either the South Korean legal processes have been completed or prosecutors accept a bond. Either situation would allow them home.
In the meantime Capt Chawla, 39, who joined V.Ships as a cadet in 1991, is unsure if he will return to sea. “I don’t want to see a ship again,” he said. Explaining further, he said the legal process, where every decision he took before and after the incident was rerun in hours of questioning and dissected in minute detail in the courtroom has left him unsure of command.
If he was to return to the bridge, he feels that any future decisions he takes will be coloured by this experience. Consequently, he will make decisions based on how he thinks they will be interpreted rather than “just doing what I thought was right”.
That said, Capt Chawla is adamant he took the right action and would have “done the same thing again. There is nothing I could think of that I did wrong. The biggest achievement is there were no casualties and 25 people are home.”
Meanwhile, Mr Chetan, 33, with only five months of seatime left before the accident, is anxious to return to sea to obtain his master’s ticket, albeit after a suitable break at home.
It is little wonder that both men feel they are being criminalised for an incident in which they and the ship were innocent bystanders. And it is a situation that has influenced their advice to others planning a seafaring career.
Capt Chawla said that before the accident he would have advised anybody, including his own son, to look at all job options including a seafaring career.
“Now I would discourage them from seafaring,” he said.
The emotional and practical toll has been especially hard when it comes to their families. As Capt Chawla explained: “The families are facing a lot of stress. I don’t tell them everything and they don’t tell me. Until I go back we don’t know what we’ve gone through.”
He pointed out that not only is his grandmother very ill, but his enforced separation is also affecting his children’s education.
Capt Chawla’s seven-year-old son will soon have to be admitted to a new school. But his inability to be present during the school’s interview process, which starts next month, could have a negative effect on his son’s chances of joining his preferred school. “It shows the father doesn’t care. It’s not considered very good.”
To support his view, he related the story of his brother-in-law who also couldn’t attend his son’s school interviews. The son was later refused admission.
For Mr Chetan the separation from his young family is hard to bear, especially after the district court hearing. “I missed my son’s first birthday, which I’m not very happy about,” he said. His son’s birthday was on July 2, nine days after both men were cleared and supposed to be free.
It is this inability to return home after apparently being freed that has puzzled friends and extended family at home. Mr Chetan said people don’t really understand how “we’ve been found innocent, but have not come back”.
For Capt Chawla, the enforced stay in South Korea would give some people at home in India the idea that they were guilty after all, a move that he thought would make his life at home untenable.
“It is a very closed society. Once your reputation is gone that is the end of it. It was very depressing — very early on I thought maybe my parents wouldn’t want to see me,” he said.
Both families have visited the two men, but with their continuing lives in India to consider they have been unable to stay for long. As a result, Capt Chawla and Mr Chetan have had to largely look after themselves with the support of ship management company V.Ships and Ince & Co marine manager Clive Reed, who has counselled and advised the men.
V.Ships found a serviced apartment in the centre of Seoul for each man immediately after the incident occurred on December 7. But as Mr Chetan wrily admitted they have had to feed themselves and while they have visited local shops “having the ingredients but not being able to cook doesn’t get you very far”.
Overall, Capt Chawla said V.Ships has looked after them well. “V.Ships has shown us very good support. They thanked the full crew and me for what we’ve done.”Support has come from other seafarers in messages and telephone calls including several of Capt Chawla’s juniors. Perhaps surprisingly support has also come from local people.
Capt Chawla admitted to feeling scared when he and Mr Chetan first went to court, but was buoyed by the support shown both inside and outside the court by local people. He displayed a drawing done by a local fisherman showing a turbaned Capt Chawla with two legal representatives. It contained a message wishing the master success and happiness to his family. The fisherman even included his telephone number.
Capt Chawla said other South Korean people had likened the incident to a collision involving a car parked in a car park and the driver of the parked car being prosecuted.
Mr Chetan said a banner was even unfurled by local people outside court expressing their support for the two seafarers. “People have been very nice.”
Even the marine police expressed their support and thought the two Hebei Spirit officers were innocent, but added “this is Korean law”.
Capt Chawla said: “Everyone is doing their job, even the prosecutors, so you can’t blame them.”