Maersk Dubai incident
Encyclopedia
The Maersk Dubai incident took place aboard the Taiwan
ese-flagged 1,984-TEU
container ship
Maersk Dubai, which was on a long-term time charter
to the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group
in 1996. The vessel was owned, officered and crewed by the Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation.
n stowaway
s, Radu Danciu and Petre Sangeorzan, were discovered on the container ship Maersk Dubai and ordered overboard on a makeshift raft, approximately 70 kilometres off the coast of Gibraltar
. On May 18 of the same year, en route to the Port of Halifax
, another Romania
n, Gheorghe Mihoc, was found hiding in a large cargo container and forced overboard at knife point by Captain Sheng Hsiu and four of his officers. A fourth stowaway
, Nicolae Pasca, was discovered by Filipino crew member Rodolpho "Rudy" Miguel and kept hidden until the ship arrived at Halifax, where eight Filipino crewmen (including Miguel) jumped ship and reported the incident to the authorities.
Upon arrival in Halifax the Maersk Dubai was stormed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP) and Captain Hsiu and his Taiwan
ese officers were arrested and charged with first degree murder. The radio operator attempted to escape by jumping into the Halifax harbour and was later arrested. Captain Hsiu attempted to deny access to the ship under international shipping laws.
A spokesman for Yang Ming Lines, owner of the Maersk Dubai, claimed the Filipino crew members had made false accusations in retaliation for a dispute over wages. The Filipino crewmen maintained that the stowaway
s were thrown overboard in order to avoid paying a fine of US$5090 for each illegal immigrant brought into Canada
. Lee Cohen, a Halifax immigration lawyer, acted on behalf of some of the Filipino crew members, while the Republic of China
retained the services of the Canadian criminal lawyer Edward Greenspan
.
The Republic of China
protested the storming of the ship and the arrest of the officers, and contested the attempt by Canadian authorities to extradite them to Romania
, citing Article 92 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Article 92 states that "Ships shall sail under the flag of one state only and, save in exceptional cases expressly provided for in international treaties or in this Convention, shall be subject to its exclusive jurisdiction on the high seas." Article 97 of the same Law further holds that "no arrest or detention of the ship, even as a measure of investigation, shall be ordered by any authorities other than those of the flag state." The flag state in this case was the Republic of China
, which owns Yang Ming Lines.
The officers were eventually extradited to Taiwan
. Captain Hsiu was charged with criminal negligence causing death and was subsequently acquitted for lack of evidence regarding the stowaways' death. None of the other officers were brought to trial.
Several crew members claimed they saw no sign of the makeshift raft after the ship had passed, and believed that it may have been dragged under by the ship's wake. The three stowaways were never seen again. Their families received an out-of-court settlement after filing civil suit against the Yang Ming Lines.
The surviving stowaway is now living in the United States
. Four of the Filipino crewmen who reported the incident have remained in Halifax, and three of them now work for the Canadian Coast Guard
. Their families in the Philippines
were reported to have gone into hiding during the proceedings for fear of reprisals by agents hired by the Ming Lines.
The incident was one of the main themes of progressive metal
band Savatage
's concept album
The Wake of Magellan
. A partially fictionalized version of the incident was the plot of the book The Stowaway by Robert Hough.
. After the incident it became the Med Taichung, and now operates as the YM Fortune under Yang Ming Lines.
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese-flagged 1,984-TEU
Twenty-foot equivalent unit
The twenty-foot equivalent unit is an inexact unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of container ships and container terminals...
container ship
Container ship
Container ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport.-History:...
Maersk Dubai, which was on a long-term time charter
Time Charter
Time Charter was an Irish-bred, British-trained thoroughbred racehorse who won several important races between 1982 and 1984.-Background:...
to the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group
A.P. Moller-Maersk Group
A.P. Moller – Maersk Group , also known as Maersk , is a Danish business conglomerate. A.P. Moller – Maersk Group has activities in a variety of business sectors, primarily within the transportation and energy sectors. It is the largest container ship operator and supply vessel operator in the...
in 1996. The vessel was owned, officered and crewed by the Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation.
Events
On March 12 1996, two RomaniaRomania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n stowaway
Stowaway
A stowaway is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as an aircraft, bus, ship, cargo truck or train, to travel without paying and without being detected....
s, Radu Danciu and Petre Sangeorzan, were discovered on the container ship Maersk Dubai and ordered overboard on a makeshift raft, approximately 70 kilometres off the coast of Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
. On May 18 of the same year, en route to the Port of Halifax
Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...
, another Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n, Gheorghe Mihoc, was found hiding in a large cargo container and forced overboard at knife point by Captain Sheng Hsiu and four of his officers. A fourth stowaway
Stowaway
A stowaway is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as an aircraft, bus, ship, cargo truck or train, to travel without paying and without being detected....
, Nicolae Pasca, was discovered by Filipino crew member Rodolpho "Rudy" Miguel and kept hidden until the ship arrived at Halifax, where eight Filipino crewmen (including Miguel) jumped ship and reported the incident to the authorities.
Upon arrival in Halifax the Maersk Dubai was stormed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP) and Captain Hsiu and his Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese officers were arrested and charged with first degree murder. The radio operator attempted to escape by jumping into the Halifax harbour and was later arrested. Captain Hsiu attempted to deny access to the ship under international shipping laws.
A spokesman for Yang Ming Lines, owner of the Maersk Dubai, claimed the Filipino crew members had made false accusations in retaliation for a dispute over wages. The Filipino crewmen maintained that the stowaway
Stowaway
A stowaway is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as an aircraft, bus, ship, cargo truck or train, to travel without paying and without being detected....
s were thrown overboard in order to avoid paying a fine of US$5090 for each illegal immigrant brought into Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Lee Cohen, a Halifax immigration lawyer, acted on behalf of some of the Filipino crew members, while the Republic of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
retained the services of the Canadian criminal lawyer Edward Greenspan
Edward Greenspan
Edward Leonard Greenspan, QC is a Canadian lawyer and prolific author of legal volumes. He is one of the most famous defence lawyers in Canada, owing to several high-profile clients and to his national exposure on the popular Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio series, The Scales of Justice .A...
.
The Republic of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
protested the storming of the ship and the arrest of the officers, and contested the attempt by Canadian authorities to extradite them to Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, citing Article 92 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Article 92 states that "Ships shall sail under the flag of one state only and, save in exceptional cases expressly provided for in international treaties or in this Convention, shall be subject to its exclusive jurisdiction on the high seas." Article 97 of the same Law further holds that "no arrest or detention of the ship, even as a measure of investigation, shall be ordered by any authorities other than those of the flag state." The flag state in this case was the Republic of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, which owns Yang Ming Lines.
The officers were eventually extradited to Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. Captain Hsiu was charged with criminal negligence causing death and was subsequently acquitted for lack of evidence regarding the stowaways' death. None of the other officers were brought to trial.
Several crew members claimed they saw no sign of the makeshift raft after the ship had passed, and believed that it may have been dragged under by the ship's wake. The three stowaways were never seen again. Their families received an out-of-court settlement after filing civil suit against the Yang Ming Lines.
The surviving stowaway is now living in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Four of the Filipino crewmen who reported the incident have remained in Halifax, and three of them now work for the Canadian Coast Guard
Canadian Coast Guard
The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...
. Their families in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
were reported to have gone into hiding during the proceedings for fear of reprisals by agents hired by the Ming Lines.
The incident was one of the main themes of progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
band Savatage
Savatage
Savatage is an American heavy metal band founded by the brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1978 at Astro Skate in Tarpon Springs, Florida.-Early days :...
's concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
The Wake of Magellan
The Wake of Magellan
-Personnel:*Zachary Stevens - lead vocals*Jon Oliva – lead vocals , keyboards*Chris Caffery – guitars, backing vocals*Al Pitrelli - guitars, backing vocals*Johnny Lee Middleton – bass guitar, backing vocals...
. A partially fictionalized version of the incident was the plot of the book The Stowaway by Robert Hough.
Ship
The MV Maersk Dubai was built in 1983 in TaiwanTaiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. After the incident it became the Med Taichung, and now operates as the YM Fortune under Yang Ming Lines.