Dutch superyacht builder Oceanco has been ordered to pay a €150,000 fine after reaching a settlement agreement with The Dutch Public Prosecution Service for breaching European timber laws. The EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) forbids the importation and use of illegally harvested timber into the EU, and regulates the vetting process of buyers, requiring them to conduct due diligence into the legality of the sourcing.
The investigation stems back to March 2022 when the use of timber for a sailing yacht built my Oceanco was questioned. The shipment was found to have been imported by Alfred Neumann GmbH, a German timber merchant which first brought Burmese teak into the EU market. Since Oceanco supplied the authorities will the necessary documentation and was not the first importer, it was not held liable for failure to carry out due diligence.
However, the boat builder was charged with a violation for using teak in interior finishings and wooden furniture in the vessel that was sourced from an undisclosed Turkish firm. In this case, Oceanco was the first stakeholder to bring teak into the EU market, and waa therefore held liable for breaching the EUTR as it did not conduct the necessary due diligence. Following Oceanco’s admission, the Dutch Public Prosecutor agreed to settle the case with the €150,000 penalty order.
News of this case comes days after British shipyard Sunseeker International pleaded guilty to three charges for the use of 11 imports of illegal Myanmar teak (with evidence of more) and breach of timber laws by the Bournemouth Crown Court.
Timber Trading
Issues surrounding the importation of teak date back to the 1960s in Burma ( the Republic of the Union of Myanmar) and, after a period of stability, resurfaced in 2021 when a military junta created an ethnic cleansing program through a state-controlled timber monopoly, allowing the logging of teak for the financial interests of the government as it became a primary source of revenue.
The installation of Burmese teak in luxury vessels has long been favored by the superyacht industry. Its favorable color, durability, densely grained properties, and resistance to water and rock are only some of the capabilities making old teak a viable option on superyacht decks for owners, despite its perilous environmental effects. The EIA warned that, with the current pace of logging, the country will lose its forest by 2035.
Several alternatives to Burmese teak have made their way into the superyacht industry, of which include plantation teak, synthetic teak, green teak, and Accoya and Tesumo wood.