Washington State Fines Ship Owner $81,000 for Spill

The Washington State Department of Ecology issued a Press Release stating that it assessed a fine in the amount of $81,000 against the Dockendale Shipping Company of the Bahamas for the spill of an estimated 8,000 gallons of bunkers from the M/V PENDRECHT while it was berthed near Longview, Washington on the Columbia River in January 2002. The spill resulted when oil from the bunker tank leaked through a crack into a ballast tank and was then pumped overboard. The owner was also assessed $15,114 in natural resource damages.