THOOTHUKUDI: The Principal Sessions Court in Thoothukudi on Monday sentenced 35 crew members of American private security ship, MV Seaman Guard Ohio, to five years rigorous imprisonment.
Judge N Rajasekaran found them guilty of not only being in possession of weapons while in Indian waters but also carrying deadly arms that can threaten people. He also said there was no proof for anti-piracy operations as they had claimed.
The American ship registered in Sierra Leone, an African country, was intercepted by the Coast Guard in Indian waters on October 11, 2013, following which the case was investigated by the Q Branch. The crew consisted of 12 Indians, 6 British nationals, 14 Estonians and 3 Ukrainians, including captain Dudnik Valentyn.
Passing the order on the case whose trial was completed in December 2015, the judge said the captain of the ship failed to obtain approval from the Thoothukudi port before entering the Indian territorial waters. Besides, the licence obtained in Sierra Leone has not been renewed, he added.
Stating that the ship on entering Indian waters should have abided by the law of the land and carried proper documents for possessing arms and ammunition, the judge convicted the crew members under the provisions of the Arms Act and said the sentences would run concurrently.
He also imposed a total fine of Rs 3,000 each on three counts. In toto, the crew members would have to pay `1.05 lakh. The judge ruled that the passports of the crew members would continue to be under the custody of the government and the arms and ammunition would have to be deposited at the CISF repository in Thoothukudi.
The judge, however, acquitted the crew members from the charges of procuring diesel under the Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply and Distribution and Prevention of Malpractices) Order-2005 citing lack of evidence. Also, eight persons from TN accused of supplying fuel to the ship were acquitted as the prosecution failed to submit proof. Earlier, he obtained the views of the crew individually during when all the 35 men said they had already served a term of six months and had been in India for the last two years. The defence lawyers pleaded leniency.