The Nobiskrug shipyard used illegally-sourced teak from Myanmar to construct the "Sailing Yacht A", a public prosecutor has claimed. The shipyard on the river Eider used wood supplied by a Burmese government-controlled firm which was sanctioned earlier in 2017 for exporting teak from threatened forests, lawyer for the state Axel Bieler said. Timber experts analysed samples of wood used in the construction of the "Sailing Yacht A" and determined from examining the composition and ring structure that it did not come from a legal plantation. Instead, it was likely the tropical hardwood came from forests in Myanmar, which was being cut down at an alarming rate despite a national ban on exporting raw teak. Since 2010, Myanmar – one of only four countries in the world where teak trees grow naturally – has lost more than 1.3 million acres of forest on average each year, according to a report by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation. It was, however, unclear whether the illegal origin of the wood, which was sold by Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE) through Spanish supplier Teak Solutions, was known to the shipyard. Allegations that the teak was logged illegally were first raised by the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency in October 2016. After a two-month investigation, the EIA accused Teak Solutions, along with eight other European suppliers, of willful ignorance on the source of their timber. “EIA identified a shipment of 1,278 pieces of teak costing 174,750 euros ($186,000) being used aboard the yacht. This was one of many shipments from Myanmar by Teak Solutions, imported in direct violation of the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR). All nine companies failed to identify or verify the source of the teak, a clear right to harvest or information that might mitigate the risks of harvesting in violation of relevant forestry provisions." Teak Solutions bought the timber from Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE), a state-run wood trading company that was recently sanctioned by Denmark for supplying teak of dubious-origin. At the time, Teak Solutions CEO Mike Kimble told that his Burmese imports were legal and met EU regulations, saying dealing with MTE was the safest way to source the wood. The shipyard told local newspaper Kieler Nachrichten: “We support the investigations of Kiel's public prosecutor and we are cooperating fully with the authorities. We have a great interest in quickly disproving the allegations, especially since the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food halted similar investigations in the same case against us last year.” The criminal investigation led by Mr Bieler was ongoing.
SHIPBUILDING
07 April 2017 - 12:00
Update: 08 April 2017 - 00:18
Sailing Yacht A was built using illegal Burmese timber
Sailing Yacht A was built using illegal Burmese timber
SHIPBUILDING
07 April 2017 - 12:00
Update: 08 April 2017 - 00:18
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