New Zealand authorities lay new charges against grounded ship's officers

New Zealand authorities lay new charges against grounded ship's officers
 New Zealand shipping authorities have laid further charges against the Filipino master and second officer of the cargo vessel Rena, which run aground on a reef off the east of North Island.

Both men appeared Wednesday in the Tauranga District Court and were remanded on bail without plea on all charges until Feb. 29, 2012.

The men, whose names and identities were suppressed in a court order, have been charged under the Crimes Act with willfully attempting to pervert the course of justice by altering ship's documents subsequent to its grounding on Astrolabe Reef off Tauranga on Oct. 5.

The master faces four charges under the Act, and the second officer (navigation) three charges, said Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) in a statement.

Each charge carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.

Both men already face one charge each under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) relating to the "discharge of harmful substances from ships or offshore installations."

The RMA charge carries a maximum penalty of a fine of 300,000 NZ dollars (230,000 U.S. dollars), or two years in prison, and 10, 000 NZ dollars for every day the offending continues.

They also face one charge each under the Maritime Transport Act 1994 (MTA) of "operating a vessel in a manner causing unnecessary danger or risk."

The MTA charge carries a maximum penalty of 10,000 NZ dollars or a maximum term of imprisonment of 12 months.

MNZ would make no further comment while the matter is before the courts, it said.

Containers are still being removed from the ship with the latest total number removed at 243, said MNZ.

A total of 256 containers, include those removed from the Liberian-flagged Rena by the Svitzer salvage team, and those recovered from the water, had been landed ashore for processing.

Beach clean-up and wildlife teams had been washing rocks and releasing seabirds rescued from the polluted water. Weather conditions are forecast fine for the salvage operation over Christmas.

Editor: Chen Zhi

English.news.cn   2011-12-21 07:50:19              
WELLINGTON, Dec. 21 (Xinhua)