In sentencing, District Judge James Elisha Lee said the central consideration is that of general deterrence, adding that a fine would be sufficient provided that it is “high enough”.
He noted that all four crew members had pleaded guilty early, demonstrating their remorse, and had provided full cooperation during the investigations. He also considered their positive career track records.
The Netherlands-flagged dredger, the Vox Maxima, lost steering control before hitting the Singapore-flagged Marine Honour at Pasir Panjang Terminal on Jun 14, 2024.
This caused about 400 tonnes of oil from the Marine Honour to spill into the sea. The oil washed up along Singapore’s southern shorelines, including beaches at Sentosa, East Coast Park and Labrador Nature Reserve.
Clean-up operations took more than two months, and the full extent of the oil spill’s impact on the coastal and marine environment is still being assessed.
Court documents revealed that on the morning of Jun 14, at 7.58am, a circuit breaker controlling the flow of electrical power from one of the dredger’s main generators to a step-down transformer was opened so that maintenance works could be carried out.
It remained open after the maintenance works were completed sometime that morning.
Heidema and Peijpers were scheduled to take over the engineering watch on the Vox Maxima at 12pm but failed to check the condition and mode of operation of the various main and auxiliary systems, including the electrical power distribution system, prior to taking over the watch.
While preparing the main engines for the vessel’s voyage that day, they also failed to notice that the circuit breaker was open – which could be seen through a display board – and, as such, failed to close it.
At 2.05pm, the Vox Maxima proceeded to depart from the Western Anchorage towards ST Engineering Marine’s Tuas yard. Two of the ship’s hydraulic pumps were started from the bridge, one after the other, as part of its planned operations.
These hydraulic pumps drew power from the low-voltage switchboards, increasing the electric load at another circuit breaker. This circuit breaker eventually tripped at 2.12pm, resulting in a blackout. There was a loss of steering and propulsion control of the Vox Maxima.
SENTENCING CONSIDERATIONS
Although the incident resulted in an oil spill that affected a “large” part of Singapore’s southern shorelines, Judge Lee said the clean up had been completed and parties affected will be able to claim compensation from the limitation funds constituted by the insurers of the Vox Maxima and Marine Honour respectively, as well as via the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund.
As such, while the impact of the oil spillage on the environment may be wide, it has been “somewhat mitigated” by the availability of economic compensation, he said.
For Sinke and Ouwehand, Judge Lee said their failure to make a second attempt to engage in emergency steering after their initial failed attempt, as well as to communicate emergency steering instructions to the officers in the steering gear room, suggest a lack of familiarity on their part.
However, he said he could appreciate the conditions that they were abruptly thrust into when the blackout occurred.
“The triggering of the various alarms and the pressure of having to deal with a sudden emergency would have had a significant impact on their reaction and decision-making at the time, notwithstanding that they had been trained to handle such situations,” he said.
Therefore, a fine at the lower end of what the prosecution was seeking would be appropriate, he said.
For Heidema and Peijpers, he assessed their culpability to be higher than the other two and agreed with the prosecution that a higher fine is needed. However, he said he disagreed that the maximum fine should be imposed.
While neither had been informed about the ongoing maintenance works when they took over the watch at 12pm on Jun 14, 2024, they were not “novices” and ought to have been familiar with the display and notice that the circuit breaker was open, had they checked it.
“I accept that had they both been informed of maintenance work that morning, it was highly probable that they would have proceeded to check as part of preparation for voyage,” he said.
However, he added that this does not “absolve them of the duty” to check and ensure that the power supply system was in the correct configuration.
For failing to discharge their duties properly, the crew members could have been fined up to S$50,000 or jailed up to two years or both.
