South Korea to release Hebei Two

South Korean diplomats said yesterday they expected Jasprit Chawla and Syam Chetan would be allowed to head home to India, ending more than 18 months of
incarceration in South Korea.

V.Ships, manager of the Hebei Spirit, is confident Capt Chawla and Mr Chetan will be allowed to leave South Korea by June 11.

South Korea’s Supreme Court dismissed charges against the master and chief officer last month, but kept the pair in the country awaiting a lower court decision that the charges against them should be dismissed.

The widely backed lobby for the release of the Hebei Two had expressed fears that a lower court decision to dismiss the case could take anything up to six months.

According to Satnam Kumar, V.Ships' Asia managing director of ship management, there was a hearing of the lower court in Korea on Tuesday.

The case is due to be heard again on June 11, with the lower court affirming that the charges should be dropped.

“We are confident by that time they will be able to return to India,” V.Ships president Roberto Giorgi said.

The pair have not been allowed to leave South Korea since the very large crude carrier Hebei Spirit was holed by a crane barge and spilled oil in December 2007.

South Korean delegates attending the opening of the International Maritime Organization’s Maritime Safety Committee in London yesterday indicated that the decision over the fate of the seafarers would be expedient.

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