Indian sailors acquitted in oil spill case return home

Mumbai, June 13 (PTI) After an 18-month ordeal, two
Indian sailors, jailed in South Korea after a crane barge
collided with their crude carrier leading to a major oil spill
in December 2007, Saturday returned here following their
acquittal by the Supreme Court in Seoul.

Capitan Jaspreet Chawla and Chief Officer Shyam
Chetan, who were working with the ship Hebei Spirit and were
imprisoned for a year in South Korea before being granted
conditional bail in January, arrived at Mumbai international
airport.

A crane barge owned by Samsung Heavy Industries
collided with Spirit and led to an oil spill which endangered
marine lives and resulted in loss of livelihood for many.

Last year, a local court had acquitted Chawla and
Chetan and blamed Samsung for the accident. But the ruling was
challenged in an upper court which held them guilty on charges
of negligence resulting in marine pollution. Chawla was
awarded one-and-a-half years in jail and Chetan was sentenced
to eight months imprisonment.

The ruling by the South Korean court sparked
widespread anger in the international shipping community,
including Indian seafarers unions, which insisted the tanker
crew were not guilty.

In January 2009, another South Korean court granted
the two conditional bail and the matter went to the Supreme
Court which acquitted them on June 11. PTI GN
PMR
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