The ferry Marco Polo ran aground on 22 October 2023 and approximately 60,000 liters of heavy oil leaked out.
Two people in the crew have already been convicted and a lawsuit regarding the Coast Guard's claim for 1.2 million kronor in water pollution fees from TT-Line is ongoing.
The preliminary investigation that is now being closed has focused on deficiencies on board the ship.
What I have investigated is that there were deficiencies on the ship that were such that they should not have left the harbor without rectifying the deficiencies. But there is no connection between those deficiencies and what happened later with the environmental accident, says maritime prosecutor Adrian Combier-Hogg to BLT.
Since the shipping company is German, he would have needed to request international legal assistance. He refers to the state of evidence, the state of the law, and that any potential penalty would be at a fine level. In addition, the statute of limitations expires on the two-year anniversary of the accident. Therefore, he sees no reason to continue the investigation.
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