By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter

Two Indian maritime officers being held at the Cheongju Detention Center in connection with the nation's worst oil spill incident will be released on bail.

V. Ships, a ship management company which employs the two seafarers, told The Korea Times that a local court had agreed to release them on bail. They were expected to leave the detention center early Friday morning at the latest, according to the company.

``We have confirmation that bail has been granted by the Supreme Court. There are some formalities that have to be completed that are being done by their lawyers right now,'' according to a representative from V. Ships. ``We will try to get them released by Friday morning at the latest.''

``They will continue to stay in Korea until a final ruling is reached by the Supreme Court. They will now be staying with their families who are visiting from India.''

The two men have been held in Korea for more than 400 days. Although cleared by a lower court in June 2008 of responsibility for the collision at the Taean oil spill, they had continued to be detained pending hearing by an appeal court which last month declared the two men guilty and sentenced them.

The controversy surrounds a Dec. 10, 2008, court ruling in the Taean oil spill incident, the largest oil spill in the country's history. The court gave Jasprit Chawla, master of the Hebei Spirit oil tanker, an 18-month jail term and Syam Chetan, the chief officer, an eight-month sentence. The oil tanker spilt more than 10,000 tons of crude oil into the West Sea on Dec. 7, 2007.

But critics say the two men and their oil tanker were ``passive victims,'' noting that their ship was sitting at anchor and that it leaked oil only after being rammed by a barge owned by Samsung Heavy Industries.

Meanwhile in the U.K., trade unionists, and shipping industry representatives have announced they will hold a rally outside the Korean embassy in London on Jan. 23. The rally will bring together organizations including global union federation the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), ship-owners and managers associations Intertanko and Intercargo, the International Maritime Employers' Committee (IMEC), along with Indian trade unions.

The ITF, a group of 654 unions representing 4.5 million maritime and transport workers in 148 countries, has publicly criticized the verdict.

``This is not justice. It's not even something close,'' the group stated. ``What we have seen is scapegoating, criminalization and a refusal to consider the wider body of evidence that calls into question the propriety of the court.''

In the first trial in June, the two foreign officers were exonerated. But in the subsequent proceeding in the appeals court last December, the original ruling was overturned on the grounds that the Hebei Spirit crew should have done more to avoid the collision.

According to lawyers representing the two Indian officers, appeals have been filed before the Supreme Court, which is scheduled to issue a ruling on the case sometime before June.

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