Enforcement Unit News

Predictive Maritime Intelligence company Windward said it has partnered with The Maritime Analysis and Operations Center-Narcotics (MAOC (N)), an EU Law Enforcement unit created to respond to the threat of illicit drug trafficking by maritime and air conveyances. With air traffic down due to COVID-19, drug smugglers are relying heavily on maritime shipping to transport illegal contraband around the world, and Windward said its maritime intelligence platform will give MAOC(N) and…

The Coast Guard, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bahamian authorities eradicated more than 200,000 illegal marijuana plants in the Bahamas.On Wednesday Feb. 6, 2019, a Coast Guard forward deployed MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Operation Bahamas, Turks & Caicos (OPBAT) recognized what appeared to be a strong smell of marijuana while flying over Andros Island on a joint narcotic interdiction patrol. The Coast Guard helicopter transported United States DEA agents and Royal Bahamas Police Force Officers from the Drug Enforcement Unit to the area to identify and eradicate over 200…

The captain of a Russian oil tanker is forced to pay £25,761.99 (more than $34,300) in the U.K. for breaching the International Safety Management (ISM) Code in a prosecution brought by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA).Vitaliy Trofimov, Captain of the Russian registered 85-meter-long tanker Tecoil Polaris, pleaded guilty at Hull Magistrates Court on Thursday to a number of safety failures which placed the vessel – to be loaded with 1,665 metric tons of lubrication oil – at risk. He was fined £1,400 and ordered to pay £24,361.99 in costs.The vessel arrived at Humber Port on the evening of Tuesday, June 5, 2018 having come from Hamina, Finland.

A Thames river cruise company has been fined a total £304,925 (approximately $411,000) at Westminster Magistrate's Court in a prosecution brought by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) for operating without a valid Domestic Safety Management (DSM) certificate.Sodexo Ltd pleaded guilty to operating without the valid certificate, contrary to the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, on one of its Thames cruise vessels Symphony. They were fined £300,000 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £125 and £4,800 toward the cost of the prosecution.Symphony is a Scandinavian style river cruise boat operated by Sodexo subsidiary Bateaux London Ltd specializing in banqueting style cruises for up to 260 guests at a time.In June 2017…

The owner of a fishing vessel has been sentenced to 15 months in prison after pleading guilty to two charges brought by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) for the unsafe operation of a fishing vessel and failing to ensure that the gas cooker was properly maintained. Timothy Bowman-Davies from Milford Haven was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment at Leeds Crown Court on August 2, after two crew members on board his fishing vessel Eshcol died from carbon monoxide poisoning in 2014.

U.K. skipper Alexander Baird, who pleaded guilty to a charge of not operating his ship in a safe manner, has been sent to prison following a hearing April 21 at Mold Crown Court, where he received a custodial sentence totaling nine months. Baird admitted the charge which covered a number of deficiencies found on his fishing vessel, St Amant. Baird was skipper of the vessel between November 2007 and April 2012. During that period St Amant was inspected on nine occasions and a number of problems found. These included safety equipment not working or not ready for immediate use, cluttered deck, failure to brief crew on emergency procedures or holding drills and making sure they had taken legally-required safety courses.

APL Ltd. to Pay $9.8 Million to Resolve Alleged False Claims Under the Department of Defense Shipping Contract. APL Limited has agreed to pay the government $9.8 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act in connection with a contract to provide GPS tracking of shipping containers in Afghanistan, the Justice Department announced today. APL, an ocean carrier based in Scottsdale, Arizona, is a wholly-owned American subsidiary of Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines Limited. The Department of Defense contract required APL to affix a satellite tracking device to each shipping container transported from Karachi, Pakistan to U.S. military bases in Afghanistan when the Department of Defense (DOD) requested the tracking services.

At a hearing today at South Shields Magistrates Court, Robert Trueman, the Owner/Skipper of a fishing vessel was fined a total of £5,000 plus costs of £4,536.18 after pleading guilty for failing to keep a good lookout. Trueman was also ordered to carry out 120 hours of community service and to pay £60 victim surcharge. On the morning of December 17, 2013, the U.K. registered fishing vessel Grenaa Star left the North Shields Fish Quay bound for the North Sea fishing grounds. Shortly after leaving, the Grenaa Star struck the south breakwater, began taking in water and was quickly grounded on the nearby Littlehaven Beach to prevent it sinking. The incident was reported by a passing vessel. At the time of the collision the Grenaa Star had a crew of three onboard.

Capt. Kevin P. Gavin relieved Capt. Donna L. Cottrell as commanding officer of Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron Jacksonville during a change of command ceremony at HITRON Friday. HITRON is America's first airborne law enforcement unit trained and authorized to employ airborne use of force and intercept go-fast vessels suspected of transporting illicit narcotics toward U.S. borders. During the ceremony, Vice Adm. Robert Parker, Atlantic Area commander, presented Cottrell with a Legion of Merit, highlighting many of her accomplishments. "Capt. Cottrell has led with superior grace and initiative," said Parker. Under Cottrell's command…

His Honour Judge Elwen at Truro Crown Court sentenced George Pill Sr., 61, to six months jail for each of the two offenses he plead guilty to and costs of £8,500. On the 22nd August 2008 a Surveyor from the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) was conducting an audit on the small Class V passenger vessel, the Haven Rose in the port of Falmouth. It became apparent that the vessels liferaft was overdue for servicing and the hydrostatic release unit (HRU) was past its expiry date. The Surveyor found the serial number of the liferaft had been obliterated and servicing data was attached to the label using yellow embossed Dymo tape instead of the normal black printed lettering on white tape. Further enquiries showed that the liferaft should have been serviced in December 2007.

Late on Jan. 7, ABP notified the Maritime & Coastguard Agency via Solent Coastguard after concerns were raised that a vessel Balu C was not being managed correctly on its passage into a berth at the port. The Master of the Balu C, Valery Semenov, was breathalysed by the Police upon arrival into Southampton Port, and he was found to have 94 microgrammes (mg) in 100 millilitres of breath. In the case of breath, 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres is the legal limit. Therefore Semenov, a 52 year old Russian national was nearly three times that legal limit. The Balu C is a 2008 built general cargo ship registered in Antigua and Barbuda. Her deadweight tonnage (carrying capacity) is 8,045 tonnes. She was on passage from Amsterdam to Southampton with a cargo of grain with a crew of 12.

A 29 year old Bournemouth woman voluntarily attended Bournemouth Police Station on Friday and was formally cautioned after certification she used to hire a yacht last year was found to be fraudulent. The woman hired a yacht in the summer of 2007 from a South coast charter firm whose conditions of hire were that the charterer should provide a valid MCA/RYA Yachtmaster certificate. The woman in question submitted a photocopy of a certificate which was initially accepted but later found to be a forgery. The matter was reported to the Enforcement unit of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The Marine Unit of Dorset Police carried out a full investigation of the incident and on the 22nd February the woman attended Bournemouth Police Station .