Rotterdam court convicts Seatrade for trafficking toxic ships

A Rotterdam District Court has sentenced Seatrade for the illegal export of vessels sent for scrapping on the beaches of India and Bangladesh.

Under the terms of the European Union’s Waste Shipment Regulation, Seatrade was heavily fined, and two of its executives were banned from serving as a director, commissioner, advisor or employee of a shipping company for one year.

It was the first time a European shipping company has been held criminally liable for having sold vessels for scrap to substandard shipbreaking yards, where the prosecutor said, “current ship dismantling methods endanger the lives and health of workers and pollute the environment”.

This judgement sets a European-wide precedent for holding ship owners accountable for knowingly selling vessels for dirty and dangerous breaking in order to maximise profits.