Brudzinski Selected as USCG Chief Judge
Judge Walter J. Brudzinski has been selected for the position of Chief, Administrative Law Judge, U.S. Coast Guard. In this capacity, Chief Judge Brudzinski will provide supervision and administration of the Coast Guard Administrative Law Judge program. Judge Brudzinski has more than 16 years of experience as an Administrative Law Judge and has been with the U.S. Coast Guard since 2003. Prior to his initial Administrative Law Judge appointment in 1996 with the Social Security Administration…
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 pipe” that was used to discharge oily waste without the use of an oily-water separator, a required pollution control devise. The discharges were, however, falsely recorded as having been processed through the separator in the ship’s oil record book, a required log regularly inspected by the U.S.
Former Chief Engineer Arraigned on Vessel Pollution Charges
Patrick K. Brown, a former Chief Engineer of the M/V Fidelio was arraigned today on a six count indictment related to deliberate vessel pollution that was originally returned by a federal grand jury on July 26, 2007. The indictment was announced by Ronald J. Tenpas, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Environment & Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. According to the indictment, Brown was a U.S. licensed Chief Engineer and was responsible for managing and supervising the engine department, including compliance with laws regulating the discharge of oil from the ship.
PGM Sentenced for Environmental Crimes
American-based ship operator, Pacific-Gulf Marine, Inc. deliberate acts of pollution involving a fleet of four ships, in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships. U.S. District Judge William M. Nickerson sentenced PGM to pay a $1 million criminal fine, $500,000 for community service and serve three years of probation under the terms of a rigorous Environmental Compliance Program (ECP), which is subject to court approval. oil-contaminated bilge waste without the use of an oily water separator, a required pollution prevention device. Instead, the ships used secret bypass pipes, sometimes referred to as a "magic pipe," to circumvent the oily water separator.
