A trial over an oil spill incident that occurred in Vancouver’s harbor nearly three years ago has moved forward, despite the absence of one defendant.
A BC provincial court judge heard earlier this week that Mark James, who works with the Port of Metro Vancouver, responded to reports of a spill on April 15, 2015. James testified that he suspected that the oil floating on the surface of the harbor’s waters was bunker fuel, based on the smell.
“When you smell gasoline, you know the smell of gasoline,” James said. “We knew it was bunker oil, which was serious.”
The Canadian Press reported that the vessel allegedly responsible for the leak, MV Marathassa, and Greek shipping firm Alassia NewShips Management, together face 10 environmental-related charges, including alleged violations under the Fisheries Act and the Canadian Environment Protection Act. Neither entity had any representation in court on Monday, but Marathassa had a counsel present to cross-examine James.
Alassia has denied ownership of the vessel, but Crown attorney Jessica Lawn claimed the firm is the alleged operator of the Marathassa outside of court. Lawn added that any evidence supporting that assertion could be valuable to the case.
“It’s the Crown’s duty to prove that Alassia, as charged on the information, committed the offences in the way that we’ve alleged,” she said.
In his testimony, James said that when he boarded the Marathassa to take notes on the spill, the vessel’s captain gave him a sheet of paper with the vessel’s letterhead. The inspector was asked to read the footer of the sheet to the court, revealing that the paper described Alassia’s name, address and contact information.
Lawn explained that if convicted, both the firm and the vessel could face steep fines. The maximum penalty for several of the violations could be as high as $4 million.
