Padmesh Prabhune –
A Croatian Capt. Marko Bekavac, and his first officer Ali Al-bokhari, aboard the ‘Phoenician M.’, a 34,000-dwt Panama-flagged bulker built in 2010 have been sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment in Turkey after being found guilty of smuggling 137kg of cocaine.
Incidentally, Bekavac has a 30-year record at sea with no reported offences.
According to reports, Both Bekavac and Al-bokhari were sentenced to 30 years each in jail by a Turkish court last week as 137kg cocaine was discovered by authorities hidden in the cargo on their vessel last October as the coal-laden vessel then arrived in the port of Eregli from Columbia.
Al-bokhari 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 the testimony, he told the Turkish authorities as much, when the vessel arrived in port.
It is learnt prosecutors were unable to provide any evidence linking the eight crew to the cocaine, and so acquitted. However, the state prosecutor said the master and first officer were responsible for managing the vessel.
Earlier, the Captain and First Officer had been arrested along with eight crew members in October 2023.
The Croatian government supported the crew during the trial and their ambassador was present at court, while the International Transport Workers’ Federation has expressed outrage and shock over the harsh sentence.
Under Turkish law, the court has 30 days to present its written verdict which will explain its decision to find the officers guilty. Only then, can lawyers file an appeal.
-Marex Media