Court acquits prime accused in oil spill case

DUBAI — The Dubai Criminal Court acquitted the prime defendant Ahmed Hassan Ahmed; sentenced the second defendant Kiyabi Ali Yusouf to six months in jail, besides a fine of Dh150,000; and a third defendant Ghulam Sabt Haider to one month in jail.

By A Staff Reporter

Published: Mon 29 May 2006, 12:33 PM

Last updated: Sat 4 Apr 2015, 1:53 PM

The Public Prosecution charged the defendants of disposing of and throwing crude oil in the marine environment, failing to take necessary measures to protect the environment from pollution, and making an oil carrier enter the marine environment of the UAE without fixing it with adequate equipment to control pollution. They were also accused of not obtaining a valid International Oil Pollution Prevention (IOPP) Certificate, which states the last location for discharging the contents of the tankers.

According to court records, the Coast Guards — while patrolling the Rashid Port waters in September 2005 — spotted a vessel at 32 nautical miles off the regional waters, specified at 12 nautical miles. The guards suspected the vessel — owned by the prime defendant Ahmed, escorted by two Iranian launches, and captained by the third defendant Ghulam. When they saw the guards approaching them, the two launches sailed away from the vessel. One launch managed to escape, while the other — led by Ghulam — was seized. It was found that Ghulam was called to the vessel by its owner and agreed with its captain (the second defendant Kiyabi) to sell 10 barrels of diesel at the price of Dh250 for a barrel, without obtaining a licence from the authorities concerned, as the buying of oil derivatives is not part of the vessel’s business.

Pipes from the vessel were connected to launches to unload the diesel, but while they were carrying out the operation, the Coasts Guards surprisingly showed up on the scene, forcing them to untie the robes between the vessel and the launches, leaving the pipes on the loose to cause an oil spill of 3-4 cubic metres. It was also found that the second defendant, as a captain of the vessel, supplied the other launch with diesel and carried the highly inflammable material to the vessel without taking precautionary measures for the protection of marine environment from pollution. Furthermore, he did not even fit the vessel with pollution control equipment in case that happens. A report by the inspector of the Ministry of Communication revealed that the pollution control measures were not enough and that the captain of the vessel had no IOPP certificate.

Article 14 of the law states that the state shall have jurisdiction on the economic region with regard to the protection and conservation of the marine environment. Law No.19 of 1993 defined the limit of the economic region affiliated to the state at over 200 nautical miles and gave the state the authority to protect and conserve the environment within it.

Therefore, the crime took place within the state’s economic region.