False Oil Record Book News

Portline Bulk International S.A. pleaded guilty in federal court in Charleston, South Carolina, to one count of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and one count of Obstruction. The charges stem from the falsification of the Oil Record Book onboard the M/V Achilleus, a Maltese-flagged ocean-going bulk carrier ship managed by Defendant Portline.From April 2017 to August 2018, senior members of the vessel’s engineering team oversaw and participated in the bypass of the ship’s Oil Water Separator utilizing a yellow plastic hose, referred to as a magic pipe. The ship’s Chief Engineer made a series of fake entries and key omissions in the Oil Record Book in order to conceal the illegal overboard discharges of oily bilge water. On Aug.

A senior engineering officer employed by an Italian shipping company was sentenced to eight months in prison for deliberately concealing a vessel’s discharge of oily waste into the sea, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Girolamo Curatolo of Custonaci, Sicily, the chief engineer of an oil tanker, the M/T Cielo di Milano, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to an information charging him with one count of conspiring to violate the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships. Judge Wigenton imposed the sentence November 21 in Newark federal court. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, the vessel, owned by D’Amico Shipping Italia S.p.A.

Two senior engineering officers employed by an Italian shipping company admitted they deliberately concealed their vessel’s discharge of oily waste into the sea, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Girolamo Curatolo, 50, of Custonaci, Sicily, the chief engineer of an oil tanker, the M/T Cielo di Milano, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiring to violate the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships. Danilo Maimone, 31, of Furci Siculo, Sicily, the ship’s first assistant engineer, pleaded guilty to an information charging him with conspiring to obstruct justice. The vessel, owned by D’Amico Shipping Italia S.p.A.

Norbulk Shipping UK Ltd, a company based in Glasgow, U.K., and operator of the reefer cargo ship M/V Murcia Carrier, pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an accurate oil record book in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and providing false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) concerning the vessel’s garbage record book. The company was sentenced to pay a criminal penalty of $750,000 and placed on three years of probation by the Honorable Joseph H. Rodriguez, the Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced today. “Our oceans are life giving and life sustaining resources that our country and our world depend upon,” said Assistant Attorney General John C.

A Greek citizen who oversaw the engineering department on board a Dominica-flagged bulk cargo ship pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in New Orleans for violating environmental laws designed to prevent pollution from ships and making false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard, the Justice Department announced. Georgios Stamou, the chief engineer of the M/V Theotokos, pleaded guilty to one felony violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and one felony violation for making a false statement. Stamou is the third crewmember to plead guilty to crimes related to pollution from Theotokos while on the high seas. The captain of the ship, Panagiotis Lekkas, and the second ranking officer, Charles P. Posas, both pleaded guilty to multiple felony counts on July 15, 2009.

General Maritime Corporation (NYSE:GMR) announced that a jury in the Southern District of Texas federal court returned guilty verdicts against two vessel officers of the Genmar Defiance, one of the company's wholly-owned Aframax vessels, and GMM Portugal, a subsidiary of the company, on two counts for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and 18 USC 1001, respectively, in connection with an investigation and trial previously reported by the company relating to potential failures by shipboard staff to properly record discharges of bilge waste during the period of November 24, 2007 through November 26, 2007. The company intends to appeal the guilty verdicts and to make motions for a judgment of acquittal and a new trial.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that OMI Corporation pleaded guilty to preparing false documents in an effort to cover up the illegal dumping of thousands of gallons of waste oil and sludge at sea. OMI also agreed to pay a $4.2 million fine and serve three years probation. U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden accepted the guilty plea. Sentencing has been scheduled for May 3. A ship captain and chief engineer previously pled guilty in connection with the case. The ship involved in the case, the Motor Tanker Guadalupe, owned and operated by wholly owned subsidiaries of OMI Corporation, made port calls in the U.S., Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America.

The U.S. Department of Justice said that OMI Corporation pleaded guilty to preparing false documents in an effort to cover up the illegal dumping of thousands of gallons of waste oil and sludge at sea. OMI also agreed to pay a $4.2 million fine and serve three years probation. A ship captain and chief engineer previously pled guilty in connection with the case. The ship involved in the case, the Motor Tanker Guadalupe, owned and operated by wholly owned subsidiaries of OMI Corporation, made port calls in the U.S., Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. Ships such as the Guadalupe generate waste oil and sludge in the process of purifying the heavy fuel oil that is used to power the ship. Like other ships, the Guadalupe was equipped with a system for processing this waste oil and sludge.

The chief engineer of an oil tanker that transports petroleum products to and from various ports in the United States and abroad pleaded guilty today to submitting false documents to the U.S. Coast Guard in an effort to cover up the illegal dumping of thousands of gallons of waste oil and sludge at sea, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced. The captain of the vessel also pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to conspiracy in connection with his effort to conceal evidence and solicit false statements from a lower-level engineer during the Coast Guard boarding of the ship in the Port of Carteret on Sept. 10, Christie said.

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.

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

The chief engineers of two American-flagged car-carrier ships based in Baltimore have pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the deliberate discharge of oil-contaminated bilge waste through "magic pipes" that bypassed required pollution prevention equipment, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew J. McKeown for the Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Stephen Karas, the former chief engineer of the M/V Tanabata (renamed the M/V Resolve) pleaded guilty today to conspiracy and making false statements before U.S. District Judge William M. Nickerson.

Three companies that own and operate an oceangoing chemical tanker named the M/T Clipper Trojan were indicted in connection with an attempt by crew members to cover up the illegal dumping of oily waste in international waters, the Justice Department announced. The 11-count indictment named Clipper Wonsild Tankers Holding A/S and Clipper Marine Services A/S, both of which are Danish companies that operate and manage the M/T Clipper Trojan, and Trojan Shipping Co. Ltd., a Bahamas company that is the registered owner of the M/T Clipper Trojan, as defendants. All three companies are part of The Clipper Group A/S, a global shipping consortium based in Denmark.