Sea Shepherd Fined for Oil Spill

Sea Shepherd Australia has been fined after spilling 500 litres of diesel fuel of Australia’s Cairns port in October 2012.
 
“This minor accident is something I am sure we will always be kicking ourselves over, as it goes against everything that we stand for and work tirelessly to protect," said managing director of Sea Shepherd Australia Jeff Hansen, reports Sustainable Shipping.

The organization was fined A$15,000 on Friday by magistrate Kevin Priestly, who said the fine was low as Sea Shepherd had made a full admission and shown remorse.

The spill occurred nine days after Sea Shepherd had acquired the Sam Simon. The vessel had a faulty fuel pump switch, and although the chief engineer had trained the crew in a temporary work around for the problem, the procedures were not followed in that particular case.

The Sam Simon is a former Japanese whaling vessel that Sea Shepherd has used in its anti-whaling campaigns.