A Thenamaris bulker captain has fined over pollution from a scrubber in France.

The unnamed 66-year-old Filipino was tried in his absence and convicted at Marseille Criminal Court.

The Mesinfos website reported that he will now pay a €50,000 ($54,000) penalty after discharging wash water from the 181,100-dwt Seaforce (built 2015) at the Mediterranean port of Fos-sur-Mer in March 2023.

The fine was the exact amount the prosecution had called for.

The bulker had arrived from Singapore.

The report said more than 1m litres of filtered water were discharged into the sea.

The court held that the size of the ship constituted “an aggravating circumstance”.

Judges concluded that the captain should have checked that his order to stop the scrubber’s operation had been carried out.

He has 10 days to appeal.

Thenamaris has been contacted for comment.

Legal grey area

Environmental groups called the penalty significant and said it could set a precedent.

Vessels are required to operate scrubbers in closed-loop mode within three miles (4.8 km) of coasts to prevent filtered water from being released.

At the first hearing in November 2023, prosecutor Michel Sastre said the master, who had more than 20 years of maritime experience, had given the order to switch to closed loop from open loop, but this instruction was not carried out by the chief engineer.

Pascal Giano, head of the Marseille Ship Safety Centre, gave expert testimony, saying the legislation is well known and generally respected.

He said responsibility for ensuring that scrubbers are used properly lies with the shipowner, which was not part of the case.

The defence team had called for an acquittal, citing confusion over the responsibility of the master.

Lawyers claimed there is a legal grey area regarding scrubber waste regulations.