2009

REPORTS OF FISHING SKIPPERS DEATH WERE TOTALLY FABRICATED

Defendant: Derek Atkins at Portsmouth Crown Court

Date of Hearing: 12 December 2008

Date of Offence: Various

Offence: Perverting the course of justice, deception and fraud, and failing to alert the authorities of change of name while on the sex offenders register.

Details: A fishing skipper invited for interview by the Marine and Fisheries Agency (MFA) over allegations of fishing offences pretended he was dead - and then wrote his own obituary and had it published in a trade newspaper.

But an MFA fisheries inspector on the south coast was suspicious, and contacted police who launched their own investigation into, Derek Atkins 56, of Allaway Avenue, Portsmouth.

Atkins pleaded guilty to a string of serious criminal charges and was also charged by the MFA with 20 offences of failing to submit proper landing log book declarations for the British registered fishing vessel Zuiderzee which he skippered in 2007 and a further charge of failure to notify a landing of scallops at Shoreham, Sussex.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency also reported Atkins for obtaining five Certificates of Competency by deception and sailing as an unqualified person under Section 52 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.

Penalty: Six and a half years, some of which will run concurrently, meaning that he will have to serve a total of 30 months.

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SHIP'S CAPTAIN FINED FOR ALLOWING DRUNK CREWMEMBERS ON BOARD

Defendant:: Captain Alexander Phimister (62) at Lerwick Sheriff Court

Date of Hearing: 23 April 2009

Date of Offence: 16 November 2007

Offence: Breach of the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention (ISM Code).

Details: In November 2007 Captain Phimister from Buckie, was master of the offshore supply vessel Vos Viper. The ship arrived in Lerwick Harbour on 15th November 2007 to carry out repairs to the radio equipment. The repairs were delayed and so the ship remained alongside.  The following evening, the 16th November, Captain Phimister went ashore with the second engineer George Mains and the Chief Officer Gordon Buchan to celebrate his birthday at the local pub. Whilst they were there they met some other members of the crew. The party returned to the ship at around 0100 hours on the morning of the 17th. The Chief Officer, Gordon Buchan (48) went to make a cup of coffee and fell down the stairs. Tragically he died of his injuries. The subsequent post mortem showed that he was more than three times over the statutory alcohol limit of 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

Penalty: Capt Phimister was fined £1,800.

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Wrong Decision Lands Lorry Driver In Court

Defendant: Mr Ioan Tanasoaie at Folkestone Magistrates Court

Date of Hearing: Wednesday 4th February 2009

Date of Offence: Saturday 31st January 2009

Offence: The Merchant Shipping (Dangerous Goods & Marine Pollutants) Regulations 1997

Details: A 31 year old Romanian lorry driver attempted to use the Channel Tunnel to cross over to France. He was refused owing to the quantity of flammable goods he was carrying. Mr Tanasoaie then headed for Dover Ferryport where he attempted to board a British ferry bound for Calais. At check-in he failed to declare that he was carrying several items of dangerous goods amongst his load.

The ferry operator was made aware of the Channel Tunnels refusal to carry Mr Tanasoaie and the Port of Dover Police were informed. He was prevented from boarding a ferry and asked for documentation. Initially he produced some documents but not the dangerous goods notes. It was only when Mr Tanasoaie was asked for them by the Police that he produced them from the back of his cab.

Mr Tanasoaie was arrested by the Police pending further investigations by the MCA Enforcement Unit. Mr Tanasoaie stated that he had separated the dangerous goods notes at the Channel Tunnel and had thrown them on his bunk in the back of the cab. When passing through ferry check-in he claimed he had forgotten the notes were in the back of his cab and it was only when he was asked for them by the Police that he says he remembered.

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False entry in discharge book leads to appearance in court

Defendant: Kabal Singh at Southampton Magistrates’ Court.

Date of Hearing: 2 January 2009

Date of Offence: January 2004

Offence: One charge brought under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 of using a false instrument

Details: Kabal Singh applied in for a Notice of Eligibility which would have allowed him to sit exams leading to the issue of an Officer of the Watch (OOW) (Deck) Certificate of Competency. Unfortunately he did not have sufficient sea time and was refused. Singh was told that he required a further nine months sea time.

The next contact with Singh was by letter in August 2006 purportedly sent from India stating that he completed the required sea time and enclosing his discharge book and testimonials. Singh stated that he had sailed on a Cambodian registered vessel called the Lady Nora between July 2005 and May 2006. Singh was issued with the necessary document. He subsequently took the necessary exam in July 2007 but failed. During the exam a discrepancy came to light and the matter was passed to the MCA Enforcement Unit for further investigation.

Many attempts were made by the MCA to contact Singh in order to get an explanation for the discrepancy. However Singh failed to respond to any of these attempts. Investigations showed that Singh was in the United Kingdom from 2004 until the present date and claimed to have studied at two London Colleges. Furthermore Singh appeared at an Asylum and Immigration Tribunal at which he admitted that the relevant entry in his discharge book was false.

Penalty: 150 hours community service to be completed within 12 months and was ordered to pay costs of £2,530.