The Norwegian National Authority of Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime (Økokrim) confirmed today that Altera Shuttle Tankers accepted a fine to end years of legal dispute over the scrapping of two shuttle tankers in India. The company stressed that although it has accepted the fine, it does not admit guilt, but it will not be proceeding with a trial scheduled for January 2025.
Altera Infrastructure, the parent company of the shuttle tanker operator which was then known as Teekay Offshore, has contended that the two tankers were sent to Asia for further trading and that it inspected the scrap yard to ensure that it met environmental standards. The company had been scheduled to start a four-week trial but in November announced an agreement to sell its shuttle tanker operation to Greece’s Angelicoussis Group.
At issue was the scrapping of the shuttle tankers Navion Britannia (124,000 dwt) and Alexita Spirt (127,000 dwt). Both were built in 1998 and registered in Panama when they were retired in 2018. Both vessels were laid up in Sri Lanka and later beached in India to be dismantled.
“Our investigation has revealed that the company was well aware of the applicable rules and regulations, and that profitability was one of the reasons why the company chose to scrap its ships in India,” contended Norwegian Police Prosecutor Maria Bache Dahl of Økokrim in a statement on the case. “It is illegal to send Norwegian-operated ships from the North Sea for scrapping in India. Økokrim takes a serious view of Norwegian operators exporting waste and environmental problems to developing countries with far weaker environmental laws than Norway.”
The agency issued its decision in June 2024 and announced a fine of NOK 8 Million (approximately $720,000) for “contravention of the Pollution Control Act.” Norway they highlighted has adopted an extensive body of EU rules governing the disposal of ships while pointing out that EU-flagged ships must be recycled in EU-approved shipyards. The agency contends the Indian shipyard that broke up these ships has applied for EU approval, but was deemed not to meet EU environmental standards. They commented that it is more profitable for the shipowner to scrap ships in India, as steel prices there are far higher than those in Europe and Turkey.
The case highlighted that it is not permitted to operate shuttle tankers that are more than 20 years old. When both these vessels reached that age and their class certificates expired, they were retried. The company has answered that the intent was for the ships to operate in other parts of the world. It responded by saying it had spent a year looking for other services for the ships before they were ultimately dismantled.
Økokrim sought to make an example of this case. The agency said with the settlement that it hopes that Norwegian operators will take note of the fine. They also called on other nations to prosecute similar environmental crimes.
Norway continues to be one of the most aggressive in preventing toxic dismantling. In 2022, it also won a similar court decision against shipowner Georg Eide in connection with the attempted export and scrapping of a vessel in 2015. It also comes as the Hong Kong Convention is due to go into effect tightening the rules to ensure environmental and safety compliance in the shipbreaking industry.
