The spilling of 11,000 tonnes of crude oil could have been averted if South Korean authorities had put in place disaster management facilities at Taean, said Jasprit Chawla, captain of the single-hulled, Hebei Spirit. Along with chief officer Syam Chetan, Chawla was found innocent of charges of causing South Korea’s worst oil spill disaster. They, however, have been found guilty for not doing enough to prevent the spilling of the 11,000 tonnes of crude oil for which, they are liable to pay a fine.
“This charge is unfair. No one is talking about the effort we put in recovering 2.60 lakh tonnes of oil - an achievement considering the port was ill-equipped,’’ said Chawla. “It had no barges. The authorities did not allow us to bring barges when we wanted to, and when we did, they refused to allow us to transfer the oil from one ship to another. The marine police was moving in open gas heater boats in the vicinity. A single spark could have blown the entire port,’’ Chawla added.
Chawla and Chetan returned after being detained for 540 days in South Korea. Two days ago, a South Korean high court confirmed the Supreme Court’s order that both officers were innocent of property destruction charges. Before that, the duo spent 35 days in unhygienic conditions in a Korean Jail. “`It was mental torture. The police would interrogate us in Korean and as the translation was improper, they would twist questions and intimidate us by shouting,’’ said Chawla.
The duo received an emotional welcome at home. Elated at finally getting her husband home, Gurpreet Chawla said, “We had no hope left that they would return. My younger son had started to think that Korea was his father’s home and India his mother’s.’’
