허베이 스피릿호 오염사고 시 선원의 유죄판결에 대한 비판적 고찰 - 예인선단 선원의 과실을 중심으로-

Abstract

In December 2017, the incident of oil pollution from the Hebe Spirit happened. All crews of the tow that collided with the oil tanker were convicted. As the time went by, those who suffered by the incident have slowly cured. The case was closed long time ago though, the author believes it should be reviewed because there were still unsettled issues in the case: whether the crew is criminally responsible for the incident. According to various records, the incident was caused by the sudden break of the towing line linking a tug and a barge. If the break is caused by the natural forces, those who were involved in the incident were innocent. Even if their negligence were found, the punishment should be limited to the errors committed. However, the author believes that was not the case. As for the captain of the main tug, he was not likely to avoid the punishment because he was the commanding person responsible for the navigation at the time of the collision. However, the author is wondering why the captain of the assisting tug and the tow master on the barge were also punished as accomplices. They were the persons who followed the orders given by the lead captain. Contrary to the decision of the trial court, the court of appeal decided that they were also to be punishable for their negligence. But the author sees there were logical errors in the text of the judgment: conviction was made based on assumptions and some conclusions were contrary to the existing maritime law and practice. In this regard, the author is to critically review some issues of the judgment, especially on the negligence of crew. As a conclusion, the author suggests all court judgments should be open to the public, that would make judgments more reasonable and trustworthy.