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[2005] NSWLEC 102
Land and Environment Court (NSW)
2005-03-11
Talbot J, Mr J, Mr P
Original judgment source is linked above.
CITATION : Filipowski v Nikolaos; Pontian Shipping Co Limited [2005] NSWLEC 102
PROSECUTOR Barbara Filipowski
PARTIES : DEFENDANTS Kandilis Nikolaos Pontian Shipping Co Limited
FILE NUMBER(S) : 50051 of 2004; 50052 of 2004
KEY ISSUES: Prosecution :- test for proof beyond reasonable doubt based on circumstantial evidence in respect of strict liability offence.
LEGISLATION CITED: Marine Pollution Act 1987 s 8, s 8(1)
Knight v The Queen 175 CLR 495 ; CASES CITED: Latoudis v Casey (1990) 170 CLR 534; Martin v Osborne (1936) 55 CLR 367
PROSECUTOR Mr J C Sheahan SC with Mr A L Hill (Barrister) SOLICITORS Dibbs Barker Gosling LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES:
DEFENDANT Mr P Byrne SC SOLICITORS Ebsworth & Ebsworth
THE LAND AND ENVIRONMENT COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES
50051 of 2004 Barbara Filipowski v Kandilis Nikolaos
50052 of 2004 Barbara Filipowski v Pontian Shipping Co Limited
JUDGMENT 1 Talbot J: On 30 April 2002 the defendant in matter No. 50051 of 2004 was the master of the ship Frixos and the defendant in matter No. 50052 of 2004 was the owner of the ship. The defendants are respectively charged, as the master and owner of the Frixos, in respect of a discharge of oil which occurred into the waters of Gore Cove, Port Jackson allegedly in contravention of s 8 of the Marine Pollution Act 1987. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty. 2 Section 8(1) of the Marine Pollution Act 1987 provides:- Subject to subsections (2) and (4), if any discharge of oil or of an oily mixture occurs from a ship into State waters, the master and the owner of the ship, and any other person whose act caused the discharge are each guilty of an offence punishable, upon conviction by a fine not exceeding: (a) If the offender is a natural person - 2 000 penalty units, or (b) If the offender is a body corporate - 10 000 penalty units.
4 There is no direct evidence of how the alleged discharge from the ship into the waters of Gore Cove occurred. 5 The prosecutor relies upon lay eyewitness accounts of events and circumstances surrounding the observation of oil on the water in the vicinity of the Frixos and expert evidence that purports to match samples of oil taken from the bilge of the ship and the Heavy Fuel Oil ("HFO") transfer pump with samples of oil taken from the harbour by chemical analysis. Eyewitness accounts 6 On 29 April 2002 Garth George Bennett, an employee of the Sydney Ports Corporation ("SPC") was involved in disconnecting a moveable boom from around the ship Helix at the Shell Oil Terminal at Gore Bay. The removal of the boom from around the ship Helix took place between 1500 - 1630 hours on 29 April 2002. Mr Bennett makes the following statement in an affidavit:- I did not observe any oil on the waters surface, inside or outside of the boom, during that time. If there had been oil on the waters surface in the area of Gore Bay, around the hull of the "Helix" or on route between Gore Bay and Moores Warehouse, Millers Point, I would have observed it and reported its presence to the SPC. 7 Warren Keane was present at the Shell Oil Terminal on 29 April 2002 during the disconnection of the ship Helix from the Shell Oil Terminal until 1530 hours. In his affidavit he gives evidence in identical terms to the last sentence of the evidence quoted above from Mr Bennett's affidavit. 8 Frederick Tagoe, an employee of the SPC, last inspected the ship Helix berthed at the Shell Oil Terminal at Gore Bay at 0545 hours on 29 April 2002. He also made a statement almost in identical terms to that of Mr Bennett in his affidavit. 9 The Frixos transited Sydney Heads at 0635 hours on 30 April 2002 and was all secure at the No.1 Berth, Gore Cove at 0811 hours. 10 The first observations of oil on the water astern of the Frixos were made about 0900 hours on 30 April 2002. William West, an employee of SPC, observed areas of what he described as "small areas of heavy fuel oil on the water's surface in globules" about 20 metres astern of the Frixos. He said that the areas of oil on the water's surface were coming from the stern area of the Frixos within two to three metres around her port quarter. He observed an area of heavy black oil collecting in the curvature of a boom being placed around the ship. He also observed a heavy oil sheen that stretched in a southerly direction back towards Balls Head. He agreed in cross examination that he could not see "oil being discharged from some place on the stern." Another SPC employee, Kevin James Rosser, confirmed the observations made by Mr West. 11 A further employee of the SPC, John Padruig MacDonald Allan, saw black globules of oil on the water's surface coming down from the stern area of the ship Frixos and gathering on the water's surface inside the oil containment boom at about the same time Mr West made his observations. 12 Mr Allan took a clean galvanised fire bucket and dipped it into the water on the inside of the boomed area where the black oil globules had gathered together. He subsequently placed samples of the oily water in clean sample jars and after labelling them locked each sample in a refrigerator. Desmond Patrick Spurrier a Port Officer with SPC confirmed the observations made by Mr West and Mr Allan in relation to the appearance of oil on the surface of the water, its position and the taking of the sample in the galvanised fire bucket. 13 Although oil globules were observed coming to the surface of the water in the immediate vicinity of the port side of the stern of the Frixos no discharge from any point of the ship was observed. 14 Divers inspected the hull of the Frixos on 30 April 2002 and 1 May 2002. The divers noted oil on the flat bottom of the vessel and on the underside of the forward stabiliser fin located slightly aft of one of the lower sea chests. A diver reported that as he moved about the flat bottom his exhaled air dislodged most of the trapped oil, which rose to the surface and dissipated. No point of a discharge was identified by the divers. 15 Mr Byrne SC, who appears for the defendants, relies upon what he says are gaps in the prosecutor's evidence, particularly the time between when the Helix left the berth at Gore Bay at 1630 hours on 29 April 2002 and when SPC employees arrived at Gore Cove between 0800 and 0900 hours on 30 May 2002. No witness says that he actually saw the Helix leave. Nor did any witness observe the arrival of the Frixos or the path that either ship took on the way from or to the berth in Gore Bay.
16 Two SPC employees went on board the Frixos on 30 April 2002 and 1 May 2002 when samples were taken from the engine room bilge, No.7 cargo tank and the HFO transfer pump in their presence by members of the ship's crew. Expert Evidence 17 Dr John Francis Leeder, a qualified Analytical Chemist, received two samples for testing from SPC on 22 and 28 May 2002. Additional samples were received on 21 August 2002 and 1 April 2003. According to Dr Leeder the samples were analysed using approved methods of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) employing analytical techniques of Gas Chromatography for whole oil analysis. Three samples were selected for biomarker analysis by High Resolution Capillary Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry and elemental analysis. 18 Dr Leeder found that the oil on the water from Gore Bay was a degraded bunker fuel oil. The sample from the bilge of the Frixos was found to contain lubricating oil and did not match the oil spill sample. The samples of HFO from the HFO transfer pump were found to have a perfect match with the spill sample. He said that the perfect match was indicated by the triterpane profile of the samples. 19 He summed up his analysis as follows:- I have reviewed all of the analytical data including the chromatograms from the whole oil analysis and the data from the biomarker analysis. Based on the match between the triterpane biomarkers and the unresolved complex mixture (UCM) I have identified the 'Frixos' as the most probable source of the Gore Bay spill on 30/04/02. The triterpane profiles for the oil spill samples were found to be a perfect match with the Frixos HFO transfer pump sample. This match can be clearly seen in the chromatograms displayed in Figure 3. The probability of this match is 90%. I am therefore of the opinion that the Frixos is the source of the spill due to these similarities observed, to a 90% certainty using the ASTM method but the point of discharge on the vessel has not been sampled from this vessel. 20 Furthermore he found that the samples contained isomers of the unique compound dichlorotoluene ("DCT") and that the presence of these unique isomers in the spill samples and the two different samples from the Frixos, in his opinion, provide a clear link between the spill and the vessel. 21 He expressed his level of certainty in this respect:- Based on the analysis I performed and the presence of these unique isomers of dichlorotoluene in the Gore Bay spill samples and in two different samples from the ship "Frixos" it is my opinion that there is a perfect match between the Gore Bay spill samples and the samples obtained from the "Frixos" with a 100% certainty. 22 Dr Leeder could not be shaken from the level of 100 per cent certainty in cross examination notwithstanding a conclusion inconsistent with his own expressed by Dr Scott A Stout, a Senior Consulting Geo-Chemist from Massachusetts in the United States of America engaged by the prosecutor and Dr Peter James Christopher Tibbetts a Chartered Chemist retained by the defendants. 23 Dr Tibbetts currently acts as a consultant to the company M-Scan Limited, a world leader in mass spectrometry consulting and analysis for chemistry, life science and environmental studies with offices in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, United States of America and an agency office in South Korea. In September 2004 the samples analysed by Dr Leeder were divided and sub samples were forwarded to M-Scan Limited for the purpose of conducting tests upon the samples to establish the veracity of the assertions made by Dr Leeder. 24 The results obtained by Dr Tibbetts suggested to him that the oil in the Gore Bay water samples had biodegraded since its analysis by Dr Leeder. He formed the opinion that the period of time between the docking operations of the Frixos and the collection of the water samples would not be sufficient to degrade the HFO. Dr Tibbetts described the samples taken from the HFO transfer pump as resembling a fresh heavy fuel oil that has been blended with a kerosene-based "cutter stock", whereas the engine bilge samples could represent a heavily weathered and biodegraded crude or heavy fuel oil or alternatively could represent a lubricating oil. 25 Dr Tibbetts obtained biomarker fingerprints of the spill oil, the Frixos bilge sample and the Frixos HFO transfer pump sample. The results he obtained suggested that the fingerprints are similar. He concluded as follows:- In oil-oil correlation studies a positive match is not necessarily 'proof' that samples are related (Peters and Moldowan, 1993). In contrast, any differences in reliable 'biomarker fingerprint' parameters that are statistically significant, results in the two oils being considered a 'Non-match'. In the present case, there are statistically significant differences in a number of triterpane parameters. These differences, therefore, classify both the Frixos bilge and the Frixos HFO samples a 'Non-match' when compared with the oil from the Gore Bay water. On this basis the statistical differences in both of these oils precluded them as the source of the Gore Bay spill. 26 His analysis of whole oil for DCTs showed an increase in the relative concentration of the DCTs in the spill sample in the time since Dr Leeder undertook his tests. 27 Dr Tibbetts summarised his conclusions as follows:- · The GC traces of the DCM extracts (whole oils) of the oil in the Gore Bay water samples are consistent with those expected for a weathered and biodegraded crude oil or heavy fuel oil. · GC analysis of the whole oils indicate that the spill samples have been subjected to weathering and biodegradation in the intervening time between the analysis by Leeder Consulting in 2002 and the present analysis by M-Scan. This suggests that the storage conditions were not suitable for the prevention of deterioration of the samples. · GC traces of the Gore Bay spill samples are dominated by peaks, which have been confirmed by GC-MS analysis, to be dichlorotoluenes (DCTs). These appear to have increased in relative concentration in the spill samples since the analysis by Leeder Consulting in 2002. It is difficult to envisage a mechanism that would result in an increase in the relative concentration of the DCTs in the sample over time, without addition of these components from outside. · The relative concentration of the DCTs appears to be higher in the spill sample than in the "Frixos" HFO. Due to the higher water-solubility of the DCTs relative to the bulk oil, it is difficult to envisage a mechanism that would result in the increase in the relative concentration of the DCTs in a spilled oil sample. · From a comparison of the GC traces of the oil in the Gore Bay water and those from the HFO transfer pump on the vessel MV "Frixos", the "Frixos" HFO samples cannot be precluded as a potential source of the contamination in the Gore Bay water. However, the degree of weathering and biodegradation in the two Gore Bay water samples would suggest that the oil had been released into the environment several days, if not weeks prior to sampling. It is understood that the vessel MV "Frixos" had not completed docking operations when the oil spill was observed. This period of time would not be sufficient to degrade fresh HFO to the extent seen in the Gore Bay waters. · GC-MS analysis of the PAHs in the Gore Bay water sample and the Frixos bilge sample has shown that these parameters have been affected by weathering to such an extent that the normal diagnostic ratios have been rendered unusable. · GC-MS 'fingerprinting' of the samples indicates that there are statistically significant differences in a number of triterpane diagnostic ratios, which classify both the "Frixos" bilge and the "Frixos" HFO samples as 'Non-matches' when compared with the oil from the Gore Bay water. On this basis, therefore, both of these oils can be precluded as the source of the Gore Bay spill. 28 Dr Stout was retained by the prosecutor to review the chromatographic and tabulated data contained within the reports of Dr Leeder and Dr Tibbetts. 29 He collectively considered data from both the Leeder and Tibbetts reports to develop his interpretation as to the chemical nature of the Gore Bay spill samples and the Frixos candidate source samples. It his opinion that the existing data contained within the Leeder and Tibbetts reports are of sufficient quality and extent to reach a defensible conclusion as to the relation between the samples. 30 Contrary to the opinion of Dr Tibbetts, Dr Stout opined that the degree of weathering observed in the Gore Bay oil sample is not inconsistent with what would be expected in a recently released heavy fuel oil. 31 Dr Stout offered a series of alternative explanations for the higher relative concentrations of DCTs apparent in the M-Scan data than in the Leeder data but in the end emphasised that the most important point is that the DCTs truly were present in the Gore Bay spill samples and the Frixos candidate source oils. He concluded that the variation in DCT abundance in the spill and bilge oils was due to sample preparation method and not to any external source of DCTs to the sample. 32 Dr Stout observed that on average many of the biomarker based diagnostic ratios for the Gore Bay spill oil have values that are in between those of the Frixos HFO and bilge oil. In his opinion this clearly reveals that mixing of the two Frixos oils might have produced the Gore Bay spill oil. 33 Dr Stout agrees with Dr Tibbetts that the two Frixos source candidates were "non-matches" for the Gore Bay spill oil and therefore could be "precluded as the source of the Gore Bay spill". However he has explained that the Nordtest methodology relied upon by Dr Tibbetts acknowledges that when mixtures are suspected "a simple linear mixing algorithm could be developed to explain the oil spill". Therefore according to Dr Stout, as Dr Tibbetts did not consider a mixture, he did not complete the Nordtest analysis. This he says is a severe shortcoming in circumstances where the Gore Bay spill oil had exhibited values in between the two Frixos candidate source oils. In his opinion the recommendation in the Nordtest method is appropriate in this instance. 34 Dr Stout chose to assess the potential for mixing by using two qualitative methods that each made an assumption with respect to biomarker concentrations in the samples. It was not possible to develop a quantitative linear mixing algorithm in the absence of biomarker concentration data or sufficient information to calculate these concentrations. Dr Stout described the reliability of the outcome of the qualitative methods as follows:- Because each method required that an assumption be made, neither method should be considered as being quantitative in the sense that the "answer" reflects the absolute volumes of each oil in the mixture. However, it is very important to understand that an absolute "answer" (e.g., " X-percent HFO and Y-percent bilge oil ") is not necessary to defensibly establish if a mixture of the Frixos candidate source oils can provide a "positive match" (sic) the Gore Bay spill oil. Both methods simply are different mathematical approaches to testing this possibility - any "answer" that provides a match to the Gore Bay spill oil is proof that a mixture was possible (regardless of the absolute percentages). 35 Moreover both methods by which the M-Scan data were evaluated demonstrated to Dr Stout that mixing of the two Frixos candidate source oils could achieve a "positive match" with the Gore Bay spill oil. According to him both methods achieved a result of approximately 70% HFO and 30% bilge oil. He says that if different assumptions had been made the only impact would be that a different "answer" would be achieved - but a "positive match" by the Nordtest Method would still result. Dr Stout concluded that the linear mixing analyses conducted by him are proof that a mixture of the two Frixos candidate source oils would yield a "positive match" to the Gore Bay spill oil. 36 Despite the lack of direct evidence Dr Stout expressed the view that "it is more likely than not that the presence of DCTs in the three oils samples are the results of a particular solvent used onboard the MV Frixos". His opinion is that the DCTs provide additional support to the Nordtest method's results that the Frixos is the source of the Gore Bay spill. 37 The following extracts from the summary of his opinions reflect the essential findings by Dr Stout:- · Qualitative inspection of the biomarker distributions reveals features in all three of the oils studied typically associated with oils derived from carbonate source rocks. More importantly, multiple biomarker features in the Gore Bay spill oil on average are in-between the two candidate source oils from the MV Frixos. The apparently intermediate character of the Gore Bay spill oil is evident in the biomarker-based diagnostic ratios reported by Dr. Tibbetts. As per Nordtest methodology, this observation warranted development of a linear mixing algorithm. · The correlation analysis component within the revised Nordtest method is unable to deal with mixed sources because it only allows comparison of one source sample at a time against the spilled oil. However, the method clearly states that when a mixture of source oils is suspected to be the source of an oil spill "a simple linear mixing algorithm could be developed to explain the oil spill". The mixed oil can then be compared to the spill oil using the method's correlation analysis component. · Dr Tibbetts' application of the revised Nordtest methodology to the M-Scan data was appropriate, but incomplete. Using the linear regression-correlation analysis component of the method he correctly concluded that individually the Frixos HFO or bilge oil were each "non-matches" to the Gore Bay spill oil. However, Dr Tibbetts failed to consider the potential for a mixture of these two source oils, which given the many intermediate features exhibited by the Gore Bay spill oil, was fairly obvious. Therefore, consideration of a mixture of the two source oils was necessary to complete the Nordtest method. Dr Tibbetts did not do so. · As recommended in the revised Nordtest method when mixtures are suspected, two different qualitative linear mixing algorithms were developed using the same biomarker-based diagnostic ratios and data utilized by Dr Tibbetts. Both methods demonstrated that a mixture of the Frixos HFO and the bilge oil candidate source oils would produce an oil that, also according to the revised Nordtest method, was a "positive match" with the Gore Bay spill oil. · Mixed isomers of DCT are commercially used in solvents marketed to the maritime industry. The specific DCT isomer pattern can vary between solvents. The DCT isomer pattern in the Gore Bay spill oil is comparable to the DCT isomer pattern in the Frixos source oils. Thus, it is far more likely than not that the DCTs in the Gore Bay spill and Frixos source samples studied are derived from a particular type of solvent used onboard the MV Frixos. The DCTs' presence in the Gore Bay spill oil and both of the Frixos source oils provide further support to the revised Nordtest method's "positive match" results and further indicates that the Frixos was the source of the Gore Bay spill. · Collectively, the chemical data available provide overwhelming evidence that the MV Frixos was the source of the Gore Bay spill oil observed April 30, 2002. 38 In cross examination Dr Tibbetts said that his instructions were to compare the oil from the water to see if it matched either the oil from the HFO or the bilge, rather than to answer the question whether the oil in the spill sample was likely to have originated from the Frixos. Mr Sheahan SC, counsel for the prosecutor, submits that this would explain why Dr Tibbetts did not progress to a consideration of a mixture of the two source oils. 39 Following a challenging discussion regarding the proportion of water in the samples analysed at M-Scan, as well as the impact of water on biodegradation and after referring to the development of a blending logarithm by Dr Stout, the following exchange took place between Mr Sheahan and Dr Tibbetts:- Q Looking at that data, I suggest, and having regard to what was described in the article that we've just been to, what you should have done, if you were attempting to the best of your ability to assist the court in this matter, was to follow through your investigation to see if a blending logarithm could be developed to explain the spill; do you agree? A . Solely on this data, that's the case. In my mind, I had already excluded the bilge sample as a source of the spill due to the difference in the GC analysis.
Q . You have read the analyses that appear - that is the mixing analyses - at pages 14 and 17 of Dr Stout's report; correct? A. Yes, I have, yes.
Q . And you have seen, if I can take you to it, the histograms, which appear at page 36 of his report? A . Yes, I've seen them.
Q . And you have seen the correlations, which he has plotted on page 37? A . Yes. Q . That is of his two methods of assessing the hypothetical 30 per cent or 30 per cent/70 per cent mix of the two Frixos samples? A . Yes, I've seen those.
Q . That analysis strongly suggests, does it not, that the source of the oil in the spill sample is to be explained as a blend of components, which appear in the heavy fuel oil and bilge from the Frixos? A . It shows that the theoretical mix is - the match between the theoretical mix and the Frixos is possible. It is a positive match.
Q . And if one were to combine with that circumstance reflection upon the singular fact of three identical dichlorotoluene isomers being present in Dr Leeder's original analysis of each of the three samples, the appropriate conclusion, is it not, is like Dr Stout's that the overwhelming evidence overall is that the Frixos was the source of the spill? A . It looks probable from this data, but I still have some doubts over the dichlorotoluenes. 40 Dr Brian King is an Oceanographer engaged by the prosecutor to estimate the quantity of oil released into the waters of Sydney Harbour on 30 April 2002 and to undertake an analysis that would indicate the mostly likely source of the oil discharge to the waters of Gore Cove. 41 It is Dr King's opinion that the minimum volume of oil discharged into the waters of Gore Cove, based upon the observation of oil positions and oil behaviour, was a least 123 litres of oil comprising 15 litres of thick black oil in the boomed area and 108 litres outside of the boomed area. The evidence of Dr King in this respect has not been challenged. 42 Dr King calculated that a large globule of oil rising at 0.05m/s through a water column, which is less than 18 metres deep, would take no more than six minutes to reach the surface following a subsurface discharge. The OILMAP computer model was used by Dr King to simulate the influence of currents and winds on Sydney Harbour during the morning of 30 April 2002. Using this information Dr King has expressed an opinion that:- "… the oil which was observed bubbling up to the surface near the stern of the "Frixos", the oil observed already on the water's surface astern of the Frixos, and the oil slick extending out of Gore Cove in a southerly direction towards Balls Head, all originated from a subsurface discharge from the "Frixos" while in Gore Cove". 43 It should be noted that the wind speed and direction data for April 30 2002 was obtained by Dr King from the Bureau of Meteorology sourced from the Bureau's Olympic Park weather station, which is within 12 km of Gore Cove. 44 In a further report dated 11 February 2005, Dr King opined that the thick black oil and heavy sheen oil slick originated from a continuous subsurface discharge from the Frixos as it steamed into Gore Cove and while berthing at the Shell Terminal. In cross examination Dr King agreed that he did not make any direct observations himself and that he relied on the evidence of Mr West and the others. Dr King further agreed in cross examination that he made an assumption in respect of the track or path the Frixos had taken between Sydney Heads and Gore Cove. The defence 45 Mr Byrne has identified a number of gaps in the prosecution's case:-
Costs 62 The defendants as the successful parties are entitled to an order for the payment of their costs by the prosecution (Latoudis v Casey (1990) 170 CLR 534). Orders
DISCLAIMER - Every effort has been made to comply with suppression orders or statutory provisions prohibiting publication that may apply to this judgment or decision. The onus remains on any person using material in the judgment or decision to ensure that the intended use of that material does not breach any such order or provision. Further enquiries may be directed to the Registry of the Court or Tribunal in which it was generated.
Filipowski
Nikolaos; Pontian Shipping Co Limited
(1990) 170 CLR 534
(1936) 55 CLR 367