Shipyard owner Antonio Palumbo released from house arrest

Antonio Palumbo, owner of the Palumbo Shipyard in Bormla, has been released from house arrest after both he and his son Raffaele were arrested in April 2013 over the illegal disposal of toxic waste from their Messina shipyard.

Judgement is now expected in February 2014.

The arrest came following a two-year investigation by Italian environmental police.

Seven people from Neapolitan shipyard owners Palumbo Spa were arrested by the police in April and placed under house arrest in an operation led by the Messina customs police (Guardia di Finanza) and the environmental police (Corpo Forestale).

The arrested are Antonino Palumbo, 63, who runs the Palumbo Shipyards of Malta, his son Raffaele Palumbo, 38, who resides at Messina, Santo Scopelliti, 37, Diego De Domenico, 53, Mario Fiero, 38, Walter Radin, 57 and Raffaele Donnarumma, 39.

They have been accused of using maritime transport to dump tonnes of residual ship grift, which is sprayed using high-pressure compressors to treat the ship's sides.

Specifically, the police has accused them of criminal association in committing crimes against the environment, particularly in the traffic and illegal organisation of hazardous waste.

The Palumbos were also charged with tampering of evidence, specifically the identification papers of the waste their ships carried.

Meanwhile, Palumbo's defence lawyer Francesco Picca said his clients were innocent and were willing to clarify the matters.

According to Picca, Palumbo SPA has in the past initiated civil action against subcontractors in relation to how they were disposing of sandblasting waste.