Both ships had operated as shuttle tankers in the North Sea for almost two decades. Companies in the petroleum industry do not permit the use of shuttle tankers older than 20 years for storage and transport of oil, and the ships' contracts were consequently not renewed. The two ships left Norwegian waters for Asia shortly before they turned 20 and their class certificates expired. The sale for scrapping took place when the ships were laid up in Sri Lanka. Both ships were broken up on a beach in Alang, India, between 2018 and 2020.

International environmental problem 
This type of ship breaking is called beaching, as the ships are beached and dismantled in the intertidal zone. The beaching of obsolete ships is a major, international environmental problem causing tremendous harm to the environment, including local ecosystems. The breaking causes pollution such as emissions of heavy metals. The downstream handling of hazardous waste from the breaking activities is insufficient, and the process is associated with a high risk of work accidents.

Environmental crime is economic crime 
Norway has adopted an extensive body of EU rules in the area, and EU-flagged ships must be recycled in EU-approved shipyards. The Indian shipyard that broke up these ships has applied for EU approval, but was deemed not to meet EU environmental standards. However, it is more profitable to scrap ships in India, as steel prices there are far higher than those in Europe and Turkey.

– Our investigation has revealed that the company was well aware of the applicable rules and regulations, and that profitability was one of the reasons why the company chose to scrap its ships in India. Environmental crime harms both the environment and our economic system, says Police Prosecutor Maria Bache Dahl at National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime (Økokrim).

An accepted fine has the legal effects of a sentence
The fine was issued in June of 2024 and was initially not accepted by the company. Hence, the case went to court, and a four-week trial was scheduled to commence in January 2025. Now there will be no trial, as the company has accepted the fine. An accepted fine has the legal effects of a sentence. The company has stressed that although they have accepted the fine, they do not admit guilt.

– It is illegal to send Norwegian-operated ships from the North Sea for scrapping in India. Økokrim takes a serious view of Norwegian operators exporting waste and environmental problems to developing countries with far weaker environmental laws than Norway. As a leading maritime nation, Norway has a special responsibility to prevent the beaching of our ships. We hope that Norwegian operators will take note of this fine, and that other maritime nations will follow suit and prosecute such serious environmental crime, says Dahl.


The matter was reported by the Norwegian Environment Agency.

Contact: 
Maria Bache Dahl
Police Prosecutor
phone no. +47 90 51 90 92.
+47 23 29 10 30 (08:00–15:45) 
kommunikasjon.okokrim@politiet.no