Us Department Of Justice News

The U.S. on Friday divulged it disrupted in April a multimillion-dollar shipment of crude oil by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, seizing more than 980,000 barrels of contraband crude oil that violated U.S. sanctions.In April, Reuters reported that the U.S. confiscated cargo onboard tanker Suez Rajan, which was carrying Iranian oil at sea. The U.S. statement on Friday confirmed and fleshed out details of the story which cited sources.The "illicit sale and transport of Iranian oil" violated sanctions targeting Iran, the U.S.

Four former U.S. Navy officers charged in a massive bribery scandal linked to the man known as Fat Leonard were cleared of felony charges on Wednesday by a judge citing prosecutor misconduct.U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino said in a sentencing hearing that prosecutors' conduct "can only be described as outrageous," the San Diego Union-Tribune reported from the courthouse. After the felony charges were cleared, the four former officers each pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor with only a $100 fine as punishment…

A cargo of Iranian crude oil that was seized by the United States was unloading on Sunday after waiting two-and-a-half months off the coast of Texas to discharge, ship tracking data showed.Suez Rajan, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, has been anchored off Galveston, about 50 miles (80 km) outside of Houston, since May 30, unable to unload because commercial agents fear any vessel that takes it will be shunned by customers.But on Sunday, the Liberia-flagged tanker MR Euphrates was lined up next to Suez Rajan to perform a ship-to-ship transfer and remove the crude oil, according to ship tracking data on Refinitiv Eikon.The U.S. Department of Justice…

A 77-year-old fish factory vessel with a checkered history is reportedly leaking ammonia in Tacoma, Wash.The U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday it is responding to the incident on board the U.S.-registered Pacific Producer, a 169-foot-long seafood processing vessel with a long string of health, safety and labor violations.Coast Guard and Washington Department of Ecology crews in HAZMAT suits are currently working to locate leak. The vessel poses no immediate threat to the public…

On Feb. 10 last year, the cable ship CS Dependable appeared off the coast of the island of Diego Garcia, an Indian Ocean atoll that’s home to a discreet U.S. naval base.Over the next month, the ship’s crew covertly laid an underwater fiber-optic cable to the military base, an operation code-named “Big Wave,” according to four people with direct knowledge of the mission, as well as a Reuters analysis of satellite imagery and ship tracking data.The new super-fast internet link to Diego Garcia, which has not previously been reported, will boost U.S. military readiness in the Indian Ocean, a region where China has expanded its naval influence over the last decade.The CS Dependable is owned by SubCom…

Michael J. Dumont started his tenure as interim president of California State University (CSU) Maritime Academy.Aside from service as a reserve military officer, Dumont was a senior executive in several agencies of the Federal government. Earlier in his career he was a litigation attorney with a private law firm representing aviation and maritime businesses, municipal governments, and institutions of higher education. He later served with the U.S. Department of Justice where he handled aviation and admiralty litigation before leading major white-collar criminal investigations.

The U.S. confiscated Iranian oil on a tanker at sea in recent days in a sanctions enforcement operation, three sources said, and days later Iran seized another oil-laden tanker in retaliation, according to a maritime security firm.As oil markets remain jittery, the cargo seizure is the latest escalation between Washington and Tehran after years of sanctions pressure by the U.S. over Iran's nuclear program. Iran does not recognise the sanctions, and its oil exports have been rising.Tehran says its nuclear program is for civilian purposes while Washington suspects Iran wants to develop a nuclear bomb.Maritime security company Ambrey said the U.S. confiscation took place at least five days before Iran's action on Thursday.

Fincantieri Marine Group announced on Thursday that it has suspended the general manager of its Bay Shipbuilding shipyard in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. over recent criminal fraud charges.The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently charged Craig Perciavalle and two other former Austal USA employees for "allegedly making or causing to be made false and misleading statements about Austal USA's performance and financial condition between 2012 and 2016", according to Austal USA, a subsidiary of Australian shipbuilding group Austal. The U.S.

Australian shipbuilder Austal Ltd sank as much as 8.4% to its lowest level in more than four years on Monday after the United States Department of Justice indicted three of its former U.S. employees on manipulating financial information. Austal, which builds ships for the U.S. Navy and is working on parts of the Virginia class submarines, plunged to its lowest level since October 25, 2018, and marked its worst intraday drop since January 17. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)…

A former heavyweight boxer from Montenegro was charged by the U.S. Department of Justice on Monday with trafficking in 22 tons of cocaine worth over $1 billion, most of which was part of one of the largest cocaine seizures in American history.Goran Gogic, 43, was arrested on Sunday night while trying to board a flight to Zurich from Miami International Airport, after being indicted by a grand jury in New York.Prosecutors charged Gogic with three counts of violating the federal Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act, and one count of conspiracy.

Equipment corrosion at an oil refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands presents a risk of fire, explosion or other "catastrophic" releases of hazardous substances, U.S. environmental regulators said on Tuesday, after performing an inspection last month.The idled St. Croix refinery, formerly called Limetree Bay, was shut down by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in May 2021 after a series of chemical releases into the environment sickened neighboring residents. The refinery was sold in December 2021 for $62 million to West Indies Petroleum and Port Hamilton Refining and Transportation…

On August 11, 2022, a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging seven defendants with running a criminal enterprise dedicated to extorting and misleading shipping companies into paying fees for the loading and unloading of cargo at the Port of San Juan—Piers 9, 10, and 11—under the threat of strikes and blockades on the part of union members of the ILA-1740 of the International Longshoremen’s Association, AFL-CIO (ILA) and under false representations…

A U.S. judge on Wednesday said the owner of an oil tanker must pay the United States $44.6 million over its role in a 2017 collision between the tanker with a U.S. Navy destroyer in southeast Asia that killed 10 sailors and injured dozens more.U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty in Manhattan found Energetic Tank Inc 20% responsible and the United States 80% responsible for the Aug. 21, 2017, collision between the 39,000 metric ton Alnic MCtanker and the USS John S. McCain.Both vessels had been cruising alongside each other when the McCain…

Iranian forces seized two Greek tankers in the Gulf on Friday, Iranian state media reported, shortly after Tehran warned it would take "punitive action" against Athens over the confiscation of Iranian oil by the United States from a tanker held off the Greek coast."The Revolutionary Guards Navy today seized two Greek tankers for violations in Gulf waters," said a Guards statement, quoted by the state news agency IRNA.It gave no further details or say what the alleged violations were.Greek authorities last month impounded the Iranian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, near the coast of the southern island of Evia due to EU sanctions.The United States later confiscated the Iranian oil cargo held onboard and plans to send it to the United States on another vessel…

The United States has confiscated an Iranian oil cargo held on a Russian-operated ship near Greece and will send the cargo to the United States aboard another vessel, three sources familiar with the matter said.Greek authorities last month impounded the Iranian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, near the coast of the southern island of Evia due to EU sanctions.They said the ship was impounded as part of EU sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. However…

The Biden administration recently issued a sweeping Executive Order [1] aimed at protecting and enhancing competition, and the transportation sector—including air, ocean, and rail—is among the industries specifically identified and likely to see heightened antitrust scrutiny under the new directives. This executive action was soon followed by the long-awaited announcement of Biden’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (Division), Jonathan Kanter, who…

A tanker chartered by the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is loading Venezuelan crude for export, documents from state-run PDVSA show, providing evidence of the two countries’ latest tactics to expand their trade in defiance of U.S. sanctions.Venezuela and Iran have deepened their cooperation this year as Venezuela has exchanged gold and other commodities for Iranian food, condensate and fuel.Names of scrapped vessels are being used by several PDVSA (Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.) customers, including NIOC, to disguise the routes and identities of the tankers they use.A very large crude carrier (VLCC), identified in PDVSA’s loading documents as the Ndros…

Venezuela is shipping jet fuel to Iran in return for vital gasoline imports for the South American nation as part of a swap deal agreed by the two state-run oil firms, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.Iran has ramped up assistance to Venezuela since last year as the United States tightened sanctions on both countries, hitting oil exports by state-run firms Petroleos de Venezuela and National Iranian oil Company (NIOC).Iran has sent flotillas of state-operated tankers carrying gasoline and feedstock for motor fuel to Venezuela, as well as equipment and spare parts to help the once-prosperous OPEC nation restart its…

Tankers carrying Iranian gasoline that was confiscated by the U.S. government and became embroiled in a court ownership battle have struggled to discharge in the United States, shifting course over the last week.The U.S. Department of Justice last month seized over 1 million barrels of Iranian fuel on board four privately-owned tankers bound for Venezuela, part of Washington's efforts to disrupt trade between the two sanctioned nations.The fuel has been at sea ever since, aboard two separate vessels that took the fuel in July and have zig-zagged at sea as they search for a terminal to discharge.The July seizure initially appeared a win for President Donald Trump's efforts to isolate the two nations.

Around midnight on February 23, Eulalio Bravo, a marine electrician, was dozing in his rack aboard the San Ramon, an oil tanker anchored off the coast of Venezuela.Suddenly, he heard footsteps pounding along the passageway outside. His captain, Jaime Herrera, cried for help."Be still!" an unfamiliar voice ordered.A gun fired.By the time Bravo and eight other shipmates emerged to see what had happened, the captain lay dead, a gunshot in the back of his head. Herrera's stateroom had been pillaged, drawers flung open, his bunk overturned. The killers were gone, as were thousands of dollars the captain kept under lock and key, according to crew members interviewed by Reuters.The murder…

Craig Perciavalle resigned as president of Austal USA on Monday amid investigations into the shipbuilder's littoral combat ship (LCS) program for the U.S. Navy.Chief financial officer Rusty Murdaugh has been named interim president of the Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder, a subsidiary of Australia-based Austal.According to Austal, the separate ongoing investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Securities Exchange Commission, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission are focused on "historical matters" before July 2016.

Carnival Corp.'s Princess Cruises has again pleaded guilty to violating its probation imposed as a result of its record $40 million criminal conviction for its "magic pipe" environmental crimes.The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Tuesday that Princess failed to establish and maintain an independent internal investigative office as required after pleading guilty to felony dumping and attempted cover-up charges in April 2017. An engineer aboard the Caribbean Princess revealed…

Jeffersonville, Ind.-based barging company American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) said it has been cleared of any fault related to the 2008 Mel Oliver collision and resulting oil spill on the Mississippi River.The announcement comes after more than 13 years of legal proceedings and is the result of a settlement agreement reached on November 18, 2021, with the U.S. Department of Justice and the State of Louisiana regarding the case.It was determined that fault for the collision and resulting oil spill belongs to Harvey…