A Panama-flagged ship’s captain and his first officer have been sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment in Turkey after being found guilty of smuggling 137kg of cocaine on board a bulker vessel.
Croatian Captain Marko Bekavac and First Officer Ali Albokhari were arrested along with eight crew members in October 2023. They were detained in an Ankara prison ahead of their trial, which started in June. Bekavac has a 30-year record at sea with no reported offences.
Both Bekavac and Albokhari were sentenced to 30 years each in jail in a Turkish court last week after the cocaine was discovered hidden in the cargo on their Panama-flagged bulker Phoenician M. The coal-laden vessel arrived in the port of Eregli from Columbia. Authorities searched the vessel and found 137kg of cocaine hidden among the coal in the cargo hold.
Eight seafarers were acquitted on the same charges as the authorities focused on the responsibility of the captain and his first officer.
The 34 000-dwt bulker was built in 2010 and reportedly was previously known as Clipper Palma. It was detained for 11 days by the UK authorities in May 2023. UK authorities inspected the vessel and found 11 deficiencies across a broad range of categories. The vessel was renamed the next month.
Albokhari told the court during the trial that he had reported that the ship did not have sufficient security while it was being loaded in Colombia. He said he had advised the Turkish authorities of this when the vessel arrived in port.
It also emerged in court that Bekavac had told the ship’s managers that security should be increased and additional cameras should be added for the Colombian port call. However, his requests were ignored.
According to media reports, Colombian authorities searched the vessel before it sailed and found a small amount of cocaine in the aft peak tank.
The ship’s crew comprised 20 seafarers from the Philippines, Finland, Poland, and Russia when it was detained in Turkey. After arresting the 10 suspects, the authorities released the vessel.
According to media reports about the cases, prosecutors were unable to provide any evidence linking the eight crew to the cocaine, so they were acquitted. However, the state prosecutor said the master and first officer were responsible for managing the vessel.
The Croatian government supported the crew during the trial and its ambassador was present at court, while the International Transport Workers’ Federation has expressed outrage and shock regarding the harsh sentence.
