Office For Law Enforcement News

Annapolis, Md. boatbuilder Ocean Craft Marine (OCM) said it is preparing to deliver a custom-designed high-performance boat to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Law Enforcement (OLE), Pacific Islands Division headquartered in Hawaii.The boat is a 9.5-meter rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) that was custom designed for the extreme offshore environs of the open Pacific Ocean waters and the various mission-profiles that are unique to NOAA OLE.OCM…

Real-time fisheries management and governance to ensure robust quota compliance and safeguard sustainable fishing.Inmarsat, along with its partners Addvalue Innovation Pte Ltd (Addvalue) and Network Innovations, have launched a type-approved IP-based terminal and Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) for fishing vessels operating in United States (U.S.) waters. The Addvalue iFleetONE communications terminal and proprietary VMS have been type-approved in four of the five U.S. Fisheries Management regions, as required by the U.S.

Coast Guard Cmdr. Craig J. Wieschhorster took command of the medium-endurance Cutter Mohawk during a ceremony Thursday at Coast Guard Sector Key West. Coast Guard Atlantic Area chief of staff, Capt. Doug Fears presided over the change of command ceremony as Wieschhorster relieved Cmdr. Adam B. Morrison of the duties and responsibilities as 14th commanding officer of the Cutter Mohawk. “Although I leave the Cutter Mohawk with a heavy heart,” said Morrison, “I have trust in Cmdr. Morrison was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal recognizing his service and performance of duty. During Morrison’s successful two-year command, Cutter Mohawk’s crew achieved a number of operational successes.

Halliburton Pleads Guilty to Destruction of Evidence in Connection with Deepwater Horizon Disaster and Is Sentenced to Statutory Maximum Fine; Former Halliburton Manager Is Charged. Halliburton Energy Services Inc. (Halliburton) pleaded guilty today to destroying evidence pertaining to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster and was sentenced to the statutory maximum fine, the Justice Department announced. In addition, a criminal information was filed today charging a former Halliburton manager, Anthony Badalamenti, 61, of Katy, Texas, with one count of destruction of evidence.

Halliburton Energy Services Inc. has agreed to plead guilty to destroying evidence in connection with the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Department of Justice announced today. A criminal information charging Halliburton with one count of destruction of evidence was filed today in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana. Halliburton has signed a cooperation and guilty plea agreement with the government in which Halliburton has agreed to plead guilty and admit its criminal conduct. As part of the plea agreement, Halliburton has further agreed, subject to the court’s approval, to pay the maximum-available statutory fine, to be subject to three years of probation and to continue its cooperation in the government’s ongoing criminal investigation.

BP Exploration and Production Inc. Agrees to Plead Guilty to Felony Manslaughter, Environmental Crimes and Obstruction of Congress Surrounding Deepwater Horizon Incident; BP Agrees to Pay a Record $4 Billion in Criminal Fines and Penalties Two Highest-Ranking BP Supervisors on Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Charged with Manslaughter and Former Senior BP Executive Charged with Obstruction of Congress. BP Exploration and Production Inc. (BP) has agreed to plead guilty to felony manslaughter, environmental crimes and obstruction of Congress and pay a record $4 billion in criminal fines and penalties for its conduct leading to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster that killed 11 people and caused the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history, Attorney General Eric Holder announced today.

The U.S. Coast Guard announced Friday that, in cooperation with federal and international partners, it has seized a fishing vessel and crew suspected of large-scale illegal high-seas drift net fishing in the North Pacific Ocean and is delivering them to the Alaska Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement for the investigation. Renegade large-scale high-seas drift net fishing indiscriminately kills massive amounts of fish and other marine life such as whales and turtles by means of enormous nets suspended for miles in open water.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the Department of Defense’s Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD) recently conducted a demonstration of a developmental non-lethal weapon designed to stop suspicious small boats. The program, referred to as Boat Trap, involves dropping an entangling net from a helicopter into the path of a boat. The net entangles in the boat’s propeller, forcing the vessel to a safe stop. According to Darrel Webb, Maritime Project Engineer at the JNLWD, potential applications of the Boat Trap device include port security…

A December 5 ruling against a New Bedford, Mass., - based fishing vessel and its captain was the first federal fisheries prosecution based exclusively on vessel-tracking data gathered by the satellite-based Vessel Monitoring System, reported the National Marine Fisheries Service, an agency of the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. U.S. Coast Guard Administrative Law Judge Edwin M. Bladen assessed a $250,000 fine and ordered the permanent revocation of the federal fishing permit of the fishing vessel Independence, owned by Lobsters, Inc., and the federal vessel operator permit of its captain, Lawrence M. Yacubian, for repeatedly entering an area closed to fishing.

A Jacksonville, Florida man was charged today in federal court with one count of violating the Clean Water Act and one count of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan; Thomas V. Skinner, Acting Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Enforcement and Compliance Assurance; William Schenkelberg, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Region of the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service; and Thomas J. Healy, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Office of Law Enforcement, announced today that FRANKLIN ROBERT HILL, age 53, of Jacksonville, Florida…

A Jacksonville, Florida man pleaded guilty in federal court to violating the Clean Water Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan; Thomas V. Skinner, Acting Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Enforcement and Compliance Assurance; William Schenkelberg, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Region of the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service; and Thomas J. Healy, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Office of Law Enforcement, announced today that FRANKLIN ROBERT HILL, age 53, of Jacksonville, Florida, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert B.

R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Hal Robbins, Special Agent in Charge, Southeast Division, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Keith Perniciaro, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Jonathan Sall, Special Agent in Charge, United States Coast Guard Investigative Service, Southeast Region, announced today that defendant, David N. Straker, a citizen of Barbados residing in Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands, was convicted by guilty plea and sentenced by United States District Court Judge Paul Huck in Miami, Florida, in connection with the submission of false document to the United States Coast Guard, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001.

IMC Shipping Co. Pte. Ltd. (IMC), pleaded guilty in federal court in Alaska to a three-count information alleging two violations of the Refuse Act for the illegal discharge of oil and soy beans and one violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for killing of thousands of migratory birds that resulted from the grounding of the M/V Selendang Ayu on Dec. 8, 2004 in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. IMC was subsequently sentenced to pay a criminal penalty of $10m. The grounding of the M/V Selendang Ayu spilled approximately 340,000 gallons of bunker fuel, as well as several thousands of tons of soy beans, into the Bering Sea in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge in the Aleutian Islands resulting in the deaths of several thousand migratory birds.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous is scheduled to hold a change-of-command ceremony at the ship's homeport here. During the ceremony, Cmdr. Glenn Grahl will be formally relieved as commanding officer of the cutter by Cmdr. Paul Flynn. The CGC Vigorous is a 210-ft. medium-endurance cutter homeported at Coast Guard Training Center Cape May. Flynn began his Coast Guard career in 1991 on CGC Papaw, out of Galveston, Texas. In 1993, he was selected as the commanding officer of CGC Point Baker, out of Sabine, Texas. In 1995, Flynn attended the University of Rhode Island graduate school earning a Master's Degree in Marine Affairs. Following graduate school, Flynn was assigned to the Office of Law Enforcement, 17th Coast Guard District in Juneau, Alaska.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of General Counsel has settled a multiple-violation shark case with the owner of Brooklyn-based Agger Fish Corporation. The fish dealer admitted to purchasing shark meat and fins without a federal permit, failing to report the vast majority of those purchases to federal authorities, and possessing fins from seven shark species that are prohibited from harvest under federal law, including basking and white sharks. he settlement agreement requires Agger Fish to pay a civil penalty of $750,000 and forfeit nearly 1,000 lbs. of dried shark fins, including more than 230 lbs. from prohibited species worth approximately $80,000. An additional $250,000 penalty was suspended.

onboard a commercial scallop vessel in violation of regulations governing both size and number of fish. penalties between $1,000 and $40,000 and/or permit sanctions of between 10 and 30 days. On August 3, 2002, a Virginia Marine Patrol officer boarded the fishing vessel Kimberly and Kathryn, a commercial scallop vessel, to monitor an offload of scallops. While monitoring the offload, a large number of tuna were observed to be on board the vessel. identified as yellowfin tuna by the vessel skipper, John P. Jones, but were given a preliminary identification of bluefin tuna by a United States Coast Guard officer. assessment. NOAA Agent Steven Niemi positively identified the offloaded tuna as bluefin. two per vessel, with a minimum commercial size limit of 73 inches curved fork length.

Coast Guard Cutter Tybee arrived in San Diego, Ca. on Friday escorting the King Diamond II, a Honolulu-based, 82-ft. fishing vessel with 12 tons of prohibited shark fins onboard. A Coast Guard law enforcement detachment operating from a U.S. Navy ship boarded the King Diamond II approximately 350 miles southeast of Acapulco on the afternoon of August 13 and seized the vessel after discovering the illegal shark fins. The Coast Guard Cutter Chase arrived on scene on August 15 and took custody of the vessel, its crew and the catch. The Coast Guard law enforcement detachment returned to the Navy ship, which continued its patrol, and Chase began its escort of the King Diamond II toward San Diego.

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) Office for Law Enforcement (OLE) special agents have seized 80 short tons of albacore tuna, worth over $141,000 , from a Cambodian-flagged longline fishing vessel, the Long Man Yun #66 in Pago Pago, American Samoa, for allegedly violating U.S. laws. of the Commerce Department. On August 1, the Long Man Yun #66 was observed within the U.S. on its deck. the vessel=s working deck. vessel arrived at dock on September 30. It is a violation of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act for a foreign fishing vessel to fail to stow its fishing gear below deck when it is transiting U.S. waters.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) of the Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is offering a reward for information regarding an adult female California Sea Lion found Nov. 6 in Moro Bay, Calif. shot in the neck with a crossbow arrow. NOAA Fisheries enforcement officers are seeking information about the shooting incident, which is a violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and will pay $1,000 for information that leads to a prosecution and conviction in this case. “It is illegal under the Marine Mammal Protection Act to harass or feed marine mammals in the wild,” said Special Agent Roy Torres, NOAA Fisheries Office for Law Enforcement - Southwest Division.

A Coast Guard H-60 helicopter sighted a trawler allegedly fishing for groundfish in the Rockfish Conservation Area on February 6. A National Oceanographic Atmospheric Agency Fisheries Special Agent aboard the helicopter spotted the fishing vessel Astoria, Ore.-based Sara Frances using bottom trawl gear in this conservation area. Beginning January 1 of this year, fishing for groundfish in this area with bottom trawl gear is prohibited. The Coast Guard pilot contacted the vessel captain and confirmed its position inside the restricted zone. With this information, NOAA Fisheries special agents met the 67-foot fishing vessel when it returned to Warrenton, Ore. Friday. The agents seized approximately 20,000 lbs. of groundfish from the Sara Frances.

At the request of the U.S. Marshals Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation, special agents from the Office for Law Enforcement (OLE) are engaged in the investigation and emergency operations associated with the terrorist activities in Boston and New York, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced on Monday. Twenty-seven special agents from NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA fisheries) OLE have been assigned to various tasks associated with the investigation, emergency operations and security details in various northeast locations. "Our agents responded to a support request shortly after the planes crashed into the World Trade Center and Pentagon," said OLE Chief Dale J. Jones. The OLE has four "teams" assisting the U.S.

A Florida fisherman was fined by an administrative law judge Tuesday, for illegal fishing within a secured area 120 miles south of Panama City, Fla. The violation occurred Dec. 17, 2002, when the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Stingray, homeported in Mobile, Ala., stopped and boarded the fishing vessel, The Shadow, for allegedly illegally fishing within the Madison-Swanson closed area. Jerry Eugene Key, operator of The Shadow, set approximately 2.5 miles of longline gear to harvest reef fish within the closed area. Any person found fishing for any species of fish in this area, other than highly migratory species, is in violation of the Reef Fish Management Plan…

The Coast Guard Cutter Alert will hold will hold a change of command ceremony, at the 17th Street Pier, Astoria, Ore., today at 10 a.m. Commander Matthew D. Bliven will relieve Commander Kelly L. Hatfield. CDR Bliven will command operations of the 210-ft. medium endurance cutter which include, but are not limited to, homeland security, search-and-rescue, fishery patrols and maritime law enforcement. CDR Bliven’s most recent assignment was as Commanding Officer, Coast Guard Naval Engineering Support Unit, Alameda, Ca. CDR Hatfield will continue his Coast Guard career as Commander, 11th Coast Guard District, Office of Law Enforcement, located in Alameda.