Vessel Pollution
Ship Company to Pay $10.5M for Covering up Oil Pollution
MSC Ship Management (Hong Kong) Limited—a Hong Kong-based container ship company—has agreed to plead guilty to charges that it engaged in conspiracy, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, false statements and violated the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, the Department of Justice announced today. Per the terms of a plea agreement that must be approved by the court, MSC Ship Management will pay $10.5 million in penalties. This is the largest fine in which a single vessel has been charged with deliberate pollution and the largest criminal fine paid by a defendant in an environmental case in Massachusetts history. According to the plea agreement, including a joint factual statement, MSC Ship Management will plead guilty to a criminal information which charges that a specially fitted steel pipe, referred to as the “magic pipe,” was used on the MSC Elena, a 30,971 ton container ship, to circumvent required ship pollution prevention equipment and discharge oil sludge and oil contaminated waste directly overboard. Upon the discovery of this bypass equipment during a U.S. Coast Guard inspection in Boston Harbor on May 16, 2005, senior company officials in Hong Kong directed crew members to lie to the Coast Guard. Additionally, senior ship engineers ordered that documents be destroyed and concealed.
Ship’s Chief Engineer Convicted in Vessel Pollution Case
Mark Humphries, the chief engineer of the M/V Tanabata, an American-flagged car-carrier ship based in Baltimore, was convicted by a jury on one count of conspiracy and two counts of making false statements, announced Ronald J. Tenpas, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and Rod J. Rosenstein, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. At trial, it was proven that the M/V Tanabata had a removable bypass pipe or “magic
NASSCO Receives Environmental Award
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics, has received an award from the California Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in recognition of pollution prevention programs initiated by the shipyard during National Pollution Prevention Week in 2002. Edwin Lowry, Director of the California EPA's Department of Toxic Substances Control, presented the award to NASSCO for implementing a wide- ranging program of activities targeted at improving
Maritime Pollution Prevention Act Signed into Law
President Bush has signed into law the Maritime Pollution Prevention Act of 2008 (H.R. 802). This law implements for the United States Annex VI to the MARPOL Convention (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a news release discussing the new legislation.
Greek Operator Pleads Guilty
Pendulum Shipmanagement Inc., a ship management company, headquartered in Greece, pleaded guilty on Jan. 13 to charges that it conspired with members of the crew of the M/V Quantum, a commercial cargo ship, to defraud the United States by falsifying the vessel’s Oil Record Book, announced Acting United States Attorney Laurie Magid. United States District Judge Berle M. Schiller immediately sentenced the company to a $1
Transas Installs Jordan VTS System
Transas Middle East instals & commissions standalone AIS solution at the Port of Aqaba, Jordan. Transas standalone AIS solution incorporates the latest VTS technology and meets all international standards. At the core of the system is Transas AIS Base station T214, state-of-the art solution designed specifically for coastal surveillance, vessel traffic monitoring and ports management. Intended to cover Aqaba Port, its inner port waters, navigational channels and fairways
Canada Fines Vessel Owner for Dumping Oil
Transport Minister David Collenette today announced that the federal government has successfully prosecuted the M/V Cala Palamos, a Cypriot-registered container vessel, owned by Nordpartner of Limassol, Cyprus and operated by Oldendorff K.E., based in Limassol, Cyprus, for the Canada Shipping Act (CSA) violation of unlawfully discharging an oily substance into Canadian waters. The pollution incident occurred while the vessel was berthed at Pier 36, in the Port of Halifax, on February 21
NRDC Says Ports Are Largest Urban Polluters
Ten major ports get environmental grades from "B-" to "F"; Los Angeles and Long Beach earn unsatisfactory "C" grades U.S. seaports are the largest and most poorly regulated sources of urban pollution in the country, according to a report released by NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and the Coalition for Clean Air. Harboring Pollution: The Dirty Truth about U.S. Ports grades the ten biggest seaports for their impact on air and water quality, land use, and nearby communities.
Bunker Convention to Enter Force in '08
Pollution damage from fuel oil carried on ships will be covered in 2008 with entry into force of international bunkers liability and compensation convention The last significant gap in the international regime for compensating victims of oil spills from ships is set to be closed, with the entry into force on 21 November 2008 of an international treaty covering liability and compensation for pollution damage caused by spills of oil, when carried as fuel in ships' bunkers
Legislation to Protect Canada's Arctic Waters
To better protect Canadian Arctic waters from ship-source pollution, Canada's Transport Minister, John Baird, announced that Bill C-3, an Act to amend the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act, came into force on August 1, 2009. The amended Act also allows Canada to exercise greater control over these waters. "The passage of this legislative amendment is welcome news. Our government has taken action to protect the fragile marine environment in the North
NOAA Report Examines Shipwreck Oil Pollution Threat
NOAA presented to the U.S. Coast Guard today a new report that finds that 36 sunken vessels scattered across the U.S. seafloor could pose an oil pollution threat to the nation’s coastal marine resources. Of those, 17 were recommended for further assessment and potential removal of both fuel
Coast Guard Evacuate 78 From Blazing Fishing Vessel
Crewmembers aboard the 314-ft fishing vessel 'Arctic Storm' extinguised an engine-room fire using the ship's Halon chemical firefighting system. The Coast Guard continues to respond to the vessel approximately 30 miles west of Grays Harbor, Wash.
Australian Reef Protected by New Safety Initiative
To protect the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Coast in Western Australia’s north-west region, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) to establish an area ships should avoid. A new AMSA Marine Notice will recommend ships keep at least two nautical miles from the edge of Ningaloo
Two Vessels Grounded off Scotland Coast
Two ships ran aground Tuesday off the west coast of Scotland, according to Herald Scotland. The first vessel, the 87-meter passenger cruise vessel Serenissima, was lodged on sand and gravel at a spot known as the Corran Ledge in Oban Bay Tuesday night as it made its way from Ireland to the port
Turkey Raises the Stakes on Pollution Fines
Turkish authorities implemented a revised Pollution Fine Tariff that will apply to pollution incidents taking place in this calendar year. In an urgent alert to American P&I Club members, the managers, following advice from their correspondent in Turkey, Vitsan A.S
Salvage Response under OPA 90: Non-Tankers are Next
Maritime casualties have always been tackled by a relatively small, egotistical, passionate and intrepid group of mariners called “salvors.” Salvage as history knows it, however, may be taking a sharp turn as a result of the new game rules being injected by the Oil Pollution Act
WQIS Strengthens Underwriting Department
John Moy has joined the team at Water Quality Insurance Syndicate as Vice President of Underwriting. John will lead the WQIS underwriting department. John came to WQIS from Crum & Forster where he served as the Vice President of United States Fire Insurance Company for the past five years
Falvey Announces New Pollution Insurance Division
Falvey Insurance Group has formed a new division, Safe Harbor Pollution Insurance. Offering some of the broadest terms available in the commercial market, Safe Harbor's Global Vessel Pollution Policy provides comprehensive protection for any vessel, owner or operator
Canada Adopts North American ECA Standards
Canada aligns with USA to reduce harmful air emissions from ships navigating in Canadian waters. The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec and Minister of Intergovernmental
EPA Offers Up to $9 Million for Emission Reduction Grants
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of up to $9 million through the National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program (DERA) for Fiscal Year 2013 for new projects to reduce emissions from the nation's existing fleet of diesel engines.
How to Comply with MARPOL Annex V
Recent amendments to Annex V of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) have created a tougher regime for shippers and crews over discharges into the sea. The U.K. P&I Club received numerous enquiries from members concerned about their obligations under
NGO's Condemn IMO Environmental Implementation Delays
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) today decided to postpone the entry into force of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions limits for ship engines from 2016 to 2021. Environmental NGOs Transport & Environment (T&E) and Seas at Risk
Shipwrecks Pose US Sea Pollution Threat
New NOAA report presented to the US Coast Guard examines national oil pollution threat from shipwrecks in US waters. The report finds that 36 sunken vessels scattered across the U.S. seafloor could pose an oil pollution threat to the nation's coastal marine resources
Passenger Ship Grounded off Scotland Coast
The passenger ship 'Serenissima' grounded Monday night in Oban Bay, was refloated the next day & awaits underwater inspection. The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency reported that the Stornoway Coastguard was alerted and was told that the ship had ran aground on sand and gravel
Arctic Council Sign Oil Spill Agreement
At their recent meeting the circumpolar states of the Arctic Council have agreed to tackle oil spill disasters as a team. The Agreement on Cooperation on Marine Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response in the Arctic—the Council’s second ever binding agreement—was signed by all