Tonight the international Cargo vessel Palencia remains docked off Belize, under Port Guard. As we told you on Friday, Government seized the vessel when it landed at the Port of Belize to off load cargo on Friday. The reason is that the ship's owner owes a 9 plus million dollar fine for another ship that crashed into the reef two years ago. Today Government's attorney Denys Barrow explained how a ship can be arrested:..
Denys Barrow
"It is basic that you can acclaim against a ship that you can arrest the ship which has done damage which is to say, you make an application to the court and the court issues a warrant for the arrest of the ship. The object is that since the ship is the object that has caused the damage this ship stands liable to satisfy the claim for compensation for the damage. The ship therefore should not be permitted to leave the waters until proper arrangements in the form of security almost like bail is given for the ship to leave."
Jules Vasquez
"However the ship that incurs the liability, the Paranga has long since flown or sailed."
Denys Barrow
"There exists the concept of what is called the sister ship claimed which is to say, I love the metaphor that we have in Belize: if you can't catch Harry, you catch his shirt. There is a legal footing for this which is to say that if a ship has caused damaged, a claimant is entitle to arrest not that ship but a ship which is owned by the same company owned the ship which actually caused the damage."
Jules Vasquez
"Has the ship owner behaved in a dishonorable fashion or a less than desirable fashion?"
Denys Barrow
"When Paranga caused the damage Paranga was detained. The representatives, the local agents of Paranga bolstered by the then attorneys for Paranga give what was in effect an undertaking that they would return the Paranga and her captain here to face nay prosecution, any claims which the government may wish to bring against Paranga. Since Paranga left the port, it has never returned to these waters."
"Before arresting this ship Palencia, as recently as last month, I wrote to the then attorneys on record for Paranga at the time and for the ship owners now and suggested to them, look at this correspondence, a promise was made, give me now the name of somebody who will accept service of process. They said that they were not possess of any authorization to give the name of anybody to accept service which left the government with what option - arrest the ship. This was entirely avoidable, but if you want to play smart then you must pay the consequence."
"I am yet to hear from them, but we abiding our time, the ship is not going anywhere until they do the right thing."
In July 2012, the MV Paranga, ran aground 2 miles southeast of English Caye.
The damage was calculated at five thousand dollars per square meter of the reef damaged. Like any arrestee, the ship will have to post bail to get free.
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