IOMOU sets up panel to look into detention of tanker by Iran

Vessel with a capacity to carry 1,40,000 tonnes of crude, belonging to SCI was held up on grounds of pollution and was released on Sept 6

IOMOU, a grouping of 17 maritime nations, has set up a Committee to examine India's claim that the 26-day detention of its crude tanker MT Desh Shanti by Iran was in transgression of UN convention on the Laws of the Sea and other international pacts.

 

"As per the guidelines, the Secretariat has formed the review panel," an official of the Goa-headquartered Indian Ocean Memorandum of Understanding (IOMOU) told PTI.

 

India, in its appeal, has told the global body that the vessel on her "innocent" voyage from Basrah (Iraq) to Vishakhapatnam (India) was intercepted by Iranian navy on August 12 beyond its territorial waters and forcibly diverted towards Nowrouz oil fields and later coerced to anchor at Bandar Abbas port.

 

The vessel with a capacity to carry 1,40,000 tonnes of crude, belonging to Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) was held up on grounds of pollution and was released on September 6 after a letter of undertaking by SCI to the Iranian Ports and Maritime Organisation.

 

Sources said, refuting pollution charges, the appeal says: "Based on satellite pictures of the alleged oil slick, corroborated by the vessels position report and ship's track record based on Ship Security Alert System and ship's course recorder data, M.T. Desh Shantis position at 2145 hrs /LT, on 30/07/2013 was 85 Nm away and on 9/07/2013 at 1026 hrs was over 400 Nm away from the alleged pollution site."

 

The appeal, sources said, mentions that Iran has not provided any documentary evidence to India to "indicate any involvement of M/T Desh Shanti in alleged pollution incident."

 

IOMOU is a grouping of 17 nations on the Indian Ocean rim and states that, "the owner or operator of a ship will have the right of appeal against detention to higher administrative authority or to the court of competent jurisdiction."

 

The committee to review detention will have members from India and Iran and two other nations and will submit a report on whether Iran has violated norms of Port State Control (PSC).

 

In a letter to Iran, India has already made it clear that PSC is a legitimate mechanism to be utilised prudently and "any arbitrary enforcement of this well-established regime can have serious ramifications ..."

 

"Control of port State over the foreign flag ships in their ports, for verifying compliance with requirements of international conventions is called port State control (PSC)", says IOMOU.

 

PSC, as per provisions, comes into the scene when ship owners, ship managers etc have failed to comply with the requirements of the international maritime conventions.

 

India had strongly objected to the detention, saying it was a "colourable" exercise in transgression of UN convention on the Laws of the Sea and had warned of serious ramifications.