Eimskip’s Offices Raided by Prosecutor

Yesterday afternoon, the shipping company Eimskipafélag Íslands (Eimskip) issued a statement through Nasdaq Iceland, saying the district prosecutor had received permission from court authorities to raid the company’s offices, Morgunblaðið reports.

The prosecutor had requested “specific documents regarding the sale of the ships Goðafoss and Laxfoss in the year 2019, which the Environment Agency of Iceland reported to the district prosecutor in 2020,” the statement reads.

The case involves the scrapping of the aforementioned vessel, which were sold abroad and subsequently sent to a ship recycling yard on the west coast of India. Goðafoss and Laxfoss were at the time 24-year-old container ships, which had been operated by Eimskip for nearly two decades.

The price at which they were sold amounted to USD 3.9 million. The buyer was the ship buying company GMS — a company which has long been criticized for disregarding employee safety and failing to prevent pollution from the recycling of ships in which it invests. The criticism was, among other places, voiced in BBC news reports. GMS has strongly objected to the aforementioned criticism and described it as one-sided and incorrect. GMS sold the two ships to Malwi Ship Breaking Co. no. 58 and Gohilwad Ship Breaking Co. no. 87A.

Eimskip has publicly stated it believes it adhered to the law and regulations in the sale process. “Eimskip laments this case and takes it very seriously,” the company’s statement reads, “since the company, its leaders and employees strongly emphasize societal responsibility in their work and have long paid attention to environmental issues in their operation.”

Potential financial effects on the company, as a result of the investigation, cannot be estimated, according to the statement.