WESTERHAMM

scrapped

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Public prosecutors have appealed acquittal

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform has welcomed the Public prosecutor’s appeal of the Rendsburg District Court’s decision to acquit the shipowners involved in the illegal export and scrapping of the'Westerhamm'. While the ruling marked the first time in Germany that shipowners stand trial for violating environmental law through shipbreaking practices, the Court failed to hold them legally accountable, despite the judge’s own recognition of the environmental damage caused. In her oral statement, Judge Martje Heinsohn stated: “What you did was not right. You caused significant damage to the environment in order to achieve maximum profit. I can only appeal to you to give something back to the environment.” The container ship, which was operated by MSC and owned by the Rendsburg Schiffahrtskontor, sailed from Bremerhaven on Nov 2, 2016, then made stops in Gibraltar and Egypt before being beached in Alang, where was dismantled under conditions that are well documented to be highly hazardous for both workers and the environment. The export of end-of-life ships to India is illegal under the EU Waste Shipment Regulation. The Court’s decision to acquit was based on doubts about the timing of the intention to dispose the ship. The shipowners claimed that the decision to scrap the vessel was only taken when the vessel had left German waters and provided as evidence sales documents for scrapping that had been signed when the ship was in international waters. They also sought to argue that because the 'Westerhamm' was still operational when it left Germany, the ship could not be considered as waste under international and EU law, disregarding well-established jurisprudence that confirms a vessel can simultaneously be classified as both a ship and waste. Indeed, what triggers the classification as waste is the owner’s intent to dispose the asset, and because a ship is a waste that can move on its own, it remains also a ship subject to all other maritime regulations on its last voyage to the scrapping yard. The fact that the 'westerhamm' was still operational does therefore not negate its classification as waste under international and EU law. The public prosecutors have appealed the acquittal and maintained that internal communications confirming the “unconditional desire to dispose of the ship” as there was no market for its further operational use provide evidence of the intent to dispose of the ship.

Illegal scrapping of Westerhamm unlikely to have criminal consequences for the German shipping company Döhle

The sale of the 'Westerhamm', that was later scrapped in Alang, is unlikely to have any criminal consequences for the German shipping company Döhle. The Hamburg Regional Court rejected charges against two authorized signatories. The public prosecutor's office had accused the two defendants of selling the ship to a so-called cash buyer in Hong Kong in order to have it scrapped. The authorized representatives allegedly knew that the freighter would ultimately be scrapped in India under conditions that did not meet standard environmental standards. The ship had contained around 14,000 tons of hazardous waste. Another defendant is alleged to have organized the sale of the container ship and its transport to Alang . According to the indictment, he sold the shi at the end of 2016 for around $4.8 million. He is also alleged to have instructed the captain to drive the freighter onto the beach in Alang, where it was subsequently scrapped. Even if the prosecutor's account were entirely correct, the facts would not be punishable in Germany, the regional court ruled. The ship was transported from Italy to India. There was never even the intention of crossing a border into German territory. Even the conclusion of the contract in Germany does not change this. The public prosecutor's office is considering whether to appeal the non-opening of the case.

Two ship owners accused of illegal shipment of waste

From March 2025, two ship owners will have to appear at the Rendsburg District Court for illegal shipment of waste. The maximum sentence is five years in prison. The opening of the proceedings is likely to set a precedent for how to deal with similar cases, the dates of which are still pending. The trial goes back to an indictment filed by the Kiel public prosecutor's office in 2022. The opening of the proceedings has been postponed repeatedly. The ship owners are accused of having sent the "Westerhamm" to Alang in 2016 for scrapping. The removal of ships for scrap outside the scope of European legislation can be illegal if it violates certain regulations; this primarily concerns the so-called Basel Convention and the EU regulation on the shipment of waste, which prohibits the export of hazardous waste to non-OECD countries such as India. In 2023, the Hamburg public prosecutor's office charged three representatives of the Peter Döhle shipping company before the Hamburg regional court with illegal ship scrapping.This case concerned the scrapping of the "CS Discovery" at the beginning of 2017, which, according to the Hamburg public prosecutor's office, contained around 14,000 tons of hazardous waste. In the case of the "Westerhamm", the Kiel public prosecutor's office investigated not only the two Rendsburg shipowners, but also the Hamburg shipowners Jochen and Christoph Döhle and Döhle's managing director Gaby Bornheim, who is also president of the Association of German Shipowners (VDR). The investigators assumed that the three accused acted as a kind of broker in the scrapping of the "Westerhamm". The proceedings against Gaby Bornheim and Christoph Döhle have since been discontinued. Jochen Döhle, on the other hand, was charged in January 2024. In a separate case, he is accused of aiding and abetting the illegal disposal of waste. Döhle will also have to answer to the Rendsburg district court. It is not yet clear when the proceedings will begin.