Company Sentenced

Company Sentenced for False Oil Record Book

Pacific and Atlantic Corp. of Athens Greece, operator of the Motor Vessel John G. Lemos, pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Jan. 19 in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon in Portland, Ore., on charges that it falsified the Lemos' Oil Record Book. Pacific and Atlantic was ordered to pay a $500,000 fine, $250,000 of which will be paid to the Columbia River Estuary Coastal Fund. In addition, Pacific and Atlantic must also establish an environmental compliance program for all 10 vessels in its fleet. On Jan. 4, the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office conducted a routine Port State Control Inspection of the Lemos at the Port of Portland. The Lemos is a 473-foot, Cypress-flagged bulk cargo carrier. The inspection of the vessel revealed false entries in the ship's Oil Record Book. After initiating a joint criminal investigation, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service and EPA Criminal Investigation Division special agents executed a federal search and seizure warrant on the Lemos and presented evidence to the grand jury three days later. Falsifying an Oil Record Book can prevent regulators from determining that a ship is following required pollution control practices. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. attorney's office in Portland. (HK LAW)

Shipping Company Sentenced to Pay Penalty for Pollution Cover-Up

Puerto Rican-based Shipping Company Sentenced to Pay $700,000 Penalty for Intentional Cover-Up of Oil Pollution.   WASHINGTON – Epps Shipping Company, a Liberian corporation doing business out of Carolina, Puerto Rico, was sentenced in federal court for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and making false statements to U.S. Coast Guard inspectors, announced Assistant Attorney General Ignacia S. Moreno and United States Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez.

U.S. DOJ: Shipping Company Fined for Pollution Cover-Up

German Shipping Company Sentenced in Puerto Rico to Pay $800,000 Penalty for Intentional Cover-Up of Oil Pollution. WASHINGTON – Uniteam Marine Shipping GmbH, a German corporation, was sentenced in federal court in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and making false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard, announced Assistant Attorney General Ignacia S. Moreno and U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez.

Ship Operator and Engineers Guilty in Pollution Case

Singapore Ship Operator and Engineers Plead Guilty to Crimes Related to Pollution from Cargo Ship Traveling to Mobile, Alabama; Company Sentenced to Pay $1.2 Million Criminal Penalty.   A ship management company headquartered in Singapore pleaded guilty and was sentenced today in federal court in Mobile for deliberately falsifying records to conceal pollution discharges from the ship directly into the sea.  Target Ship Management Pte. Ltd

Polluter Receives Jail Sentence

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a press release stating that a Seattle area marine construction company owner was sentenced to six months imprisonment and one year of supervised release after he was convicted for failing to appear at his earlier trial for violating the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. A tug owned by his company sank in Puget Sound in 1995, spilling oil. Evidence indicated that the owner knowingly failed to maintain the vessel.

Chief Engineer Sentenced

The US Attorney for the District of New Jersey said that the chief engineer of a chemical tanker was sentenced to five months in prison for attempting to cover up illegal discharges of oil sludge and oily waste water. He is also required to pay a $3,000 criminal fine. He had earlier pled guilty to presenting a false oil record book and attempting to obstruct a Coast Guard investigation. Source; HK Law

Greek Shipping Company Sentenced in New Orleans for Pollution

WASHINGTON – Ilios Shipping Company S.A. was sentenced today in federal court in New Orleans for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and obstruction of justice, announced Assistant Attorney General Ignacia S. Moreno and Jim Letten, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Ilios operated the M/V Agios Emilianos, a 738-foot, 36,573 ton bulk carrier cargo ship which hauled grain from New Orleans to various ports around the world.

Hearing for Fleet Management Pilot

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, federal prosecutors told a judge that the pilot of the container ship that struck the Bay Bridge in November 2007 ignored basic safety precautions, lied to licensing authorities about his prescription drug use, and should be sentenced to 10 months in prison, the maximum recommended by his plea agreement. Capt. John Cota's lawyers asked for a two-month sentence, the minimum term in the plea agreement

Drunk Master Sentenced to Jail

In the UK’s Snaresbrook Crown Court on Nov. 19, Captain Gonchar Volodymyr aged 53, was sentenced to two months in jail, and will be deported upon completion of the sentence after pleading guilty to being the Master of a ship whilst being over the alcohol limit. On the 4th November 2008, Gonchar Volodymyr, a Ukrainian, was Master of the Cypriot registered chemical tanker; Elousa Trikoukiotisa bound for London from Rostock in Northern Germany

Chief Engineer Sentenced to Prison Term, Reports U.S. Attorney

The Chief Engineer of a Panamanian registered container ship was sentenced today in federal court to charges of conspiracy, obstruction, destruction of evidence, false statements and violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships in connection with the use of a secretly concealed "magic pipe" used to deliberately discharge tons of sludge and oil contaminated waste overboard. Michael J. Sullivan, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts; Sue Ellen Wooldridge