Fines for Thenemaris’ Seaforce Captain Over Toxic Scrubber Pollution

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A French court in October fined a Thenamaris bulker captain 50,000 euros for discharging about 1 million liters of scrubber washwater near the Mediterranean port of Fos-sur-Mer in March 2023.

The unnamed 66-year-old Filipino captain, tried in abstention, maintained that the discharge from the 181,000-dwt Seaforce (built 2018) occurred without his knowledge, but judges said he should have confirmed that the chief engineer carried out his order to stop the scrubber’s operation. Vessels are required to operate scrubbers in closed-loop mode within 4.8 km of coasts to prevent filtered water from being released.

The Ship Safety Centre established that after entering a three-nautical mile zone from the coast, Seaforce operated its scrubber in washing mode for about 20 minutes. The inspection determined that the discharged seawater was up to 59 times more loaded with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) than the water usually pumped.

Environmental groups called the penalty significant and said it could set a precedent. The court held that the size of the ship constituted “an aggravating circumstance,” and the fine satisfied the amount sought by prosecutors.

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