SHIPOWNERS? ASSOCIATIONS DECRY ?CRIMINALIZING? OF ?PRESTIGE’s? MASTER

SHIPOWNERSÆ ASSOCIATIONS DECRY ôCRIMINALIZINGö OF ôPRESTIGEÆSö MASTER    Four major associations of shipowners have welcomed the release from a Spanish prison of Capt. Mangouras, the master of the “Prestige,” saying that government authorities are “criminalizing” the treatment of officers after marine accidents.
   A “round table” of the Baltic International Maritime Council, the International Chamber of Shipping, the International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners and the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners condemned jointly the detention of Mangouras by the Spanish authorities before any formal inquiry or legal proceedings.
   Mangouras was the master of the “Prestige,” a single-hull tanker that sank off the Spanish coast in November, creating a major oil spill.
   The shipowners' associations praised Mangouras “for his fortitude under the extreme conditions which prevailed during the incident and his imprisonment.”
   The associations welcomed the decision of the vessel’s protection and indemnity club, London Steamship, to post a 3-million-euro ($3 million) bail for his release. However, the groups said the figure demanded was “totally unreasonable.”
   “The round table is concerned that a precedent has been set for a yet more excessive demand in any such future incident,” the group of associations of shipowners said.
   It said the criminalizing of masters and senior officers after a casualty “is not only indefensible in human terms, but also inhibits timely and efficient accident investigation.”