LUXURY yacht maker, Sunseeker, has been fined more than £350,000 for its “flagrant disregard” of timber rules and use of possible illegal materials.

The Poole-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 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, said the Brexit agreement meant “commercial activity that was perfectly lawful overnight became unlawful”.

He added the Covid pandemic caused “enormous disruption” to the company, and the member of staff responsible ‘did not fully understand the changes’.

However, Judge Jonathan Fuller KC said: “The buck stops with the company, they employed a man who does not understand the job.”

Following the charges of; failing to exercise due diligence as an operator when placing timber products on the market, operator fail to maintain and evaluate due diligence system and failed to comply with record keeping, Sunseeker took steps to improve.

Judge Fuller ordered Sunseeker to pay £358,759.64 in a fine, confiscation order and prosecution costs.

A spokesperson for Sunseeker said the “unintended failure” was a result of a change in regulation which imposed additional due diligence obligations on the company from January 1, 2021.

“The company fully co-operated with the OPSS throughout its investigation, accepted responsibility at an early stage and has taken decisive steps to rectify the issue, by implementing a robust timber procurement policy and a UKTR compliant due diligence process.

“The Sunseeker Board regrets the company’s failure in meeting its responsibilities under the UKTR and underlines its ongoing commitment to compliance with laws and regulations.”

OPSS chief executive Graham Russell said: "Protecting our natural world is a priority for Government.

"OPSS will continue to take proportionate action to hold businesses to account where we identify non-compliance with environmental obligations, including criminal prosecution."

This article originally appeared in our sister title, the Bournemouth Echo.