Oil Tanker Operator Fined $1.25 Million For Concealing Oil Pollution Discharges

摘要

A Panamanian ship operator has agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle federal felony charges of deliberately concealing pollution discharges into the sea, a violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, the Department of Justice announced Oct. 21 (United States v. Styga Compania Naviera S.A., S.D. Tex., No. 4:09-cr-00572, plea agreement 10/21/09).rnIn a plea agreement filed Oct. 21 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Styga Compania Naviera S.A. agreed to three felony charges for failing to properly maintain an oil record book as required by federal and international law.rnAccording to court documents, senior engineers on the oil tanker M/T Georgios M failed to log into the record book the discharge of sludge and oily waste discharged directly into the ocean using a "magic pipe" bypass, circumventing internationally required pollution control equipment. Engineers made false entries in the oil record book to conceal the fact that pollution control equipment had not been used.