02-06-2009 par Marie NicolasChasing the Matterhorn!

On Monday May 25th, 2009, the Matterhorn, a 115 meter-refrigerated cargo ship flying the Liberian flag, was caught by a customs plane, polluting by hydrocarbons of 22 km of length and 200 meter of width in its wake.

The ship was at the time located in the descending shipping lane of Ushant, 80 km away from the French coasts.

After having seen the pictures showing the pollution, the French General district attorney ordained the rerouting of the suspected cargo ship towards Brest (Northwest of France) in order to determine the amount of the guarantee to be paid by the ship owner before authorizing him to get back at sea.

A customs plane took off to inform the ship captain of this decision, however he chose to turn a deaf ear and continue its route heading to the Canary Islands. Facing the situation, the Atlantic maritime prefecture appealed to the Motte-Picquet frigate which was then operating in the Bay of Biscay in an attempt to stop him.

The polluting cargo ship was joined by the frigate which repeated the order to reroute. After several equivocations, the ship finally headed to Brest.

As it is suspected of voluntary pollution, the ship is now immobilized in Brest. If it wants to head back at sea, the prosecution has decided it will have to pay a guarantee of 300 000 Euros.

Hearings of the captain and his crew are in hand. If the voluntary pollution is confirmed, the captain will be called in before the magistrate’s court of Brest. Be sure that Surfrider Foundation will file a law suit in a criminal proceeding to assert your rights and to continue the fight against pollution!