The Dorset-based company was taken to Bournemouth Crown Court by the office for product safety and standard after it was found staff failed to keep records of timber imports. Sunseeker, which has a facility on Portland, pleaded guilty to three charges, including failure to exercise due diligence, which focused on imports of Myanmar teak, African wenge and European oak. Prosecutor, Simon Ray, told the court on November 22: “There could be no greater harm and impact on the planet than this trade has.
” It was said that changes were made to timber regulations post-Brexit, which Sunseeker failed to adhere to. “These were not isolated slips, in that period [April 10, 2021 to July 1, 2022], there was no system at Sunseeker to achieve regulatory compliance,” said Mr Ray. The regulations are in place to ensure timber that has been illegally felled in other parts of the world are not imported and used in the UK.
Mr Ray added that illegal timber has a “real world and devastating impact on the environment, deforestation and climate change” as well as loss of habitat for some species. The court heard Myanmar teak in particular is almost impossible to check that it complies with regulations. Sunseeker paid around £60,000 for the 11 imports of timber, relating to the charges, which were then used to make boats sold for around £97m.
Mr Ray said the company has “flagrant disregard for the law” and a systemic failure to address the environmental risks. Mitigating, Ben Lloyd, .