Oil Content Meter News

A ship management company has pleaded guilty and was sentenced October 27, 2015 for deliberately concealing pollution discharges from the ship directly into the sea and for falsifying its oil record book, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson along with Rear Admiral David R. Callahan, Eighth District Coast Guard Commander. Chandris (Hellas) Inc. is headquartered in Greece and operated the M/V Sestrea - an 81,502 ton cargo ship that made calls in multiple ports in Texas. Chandris pleaded guilty to a violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships for failing to properly maintain an oil record book as required by federal and international law, as well as a violation of making a false statement for making a false entry in the ship’s oil record book. Shortly following the plea, U.S.

Greece-based Chandris was sentenced for deliberately concealing pollution discharges from the ship and falsifying its oil record book while docked in Corpus Christi, AP says quoting, a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Chandris (Hellas) Inc pleaded guilty to both violations and was ordered to pay an $800,000 fine along with a $200,000 community service payment to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. Chandris also was sentenced to three years probation, meaning all ships managed by the company will have to comply with an Environmental Compliance Plan, according to the news release. According to court records, the chief engineer of the M/V Sestrea -an 81…

AML Ship Management GMBH, a German company, was sentenced in federal court today to pay a total of $800,000 in fines and community service payments for violating the Clean Water Act and the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships by intentionally discharging 4,500 gallons of oily bilge water into the ocean off the coast of Alaska and then presenting false records to the U.S. Coast Guard. AML was also ordered to implement a comprehensive Environmental Compliance Plan and was placed on probation for three years. During the term of probation, AML will be subject to a heightened level of scrutiny, including warrantless searches of its vessels and places of business based upon a reasonable suspicion that it is violating the law.

U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced  that AML Ship Management GMBH, a German company, and Nicolas Sassin, Chief Engineer of a vehicle carrier ship it operated, the M/V City of Tokyo, were both charged with knowingly dumping oil into United States’ waters off the coast of Alaska in August 2014 in violation of the Clean Water Act. AML and Chief Engineer Nicolas Sassin have also been charged in separate cases filed in the District of Oregon with violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) for knowingly creating and presenting false records to the U.S. Coast Guard when it arrived in port in Portland, Oregon in September 2014. The Clean Water Act charges in Alaska and the APPS charges in Oregon are felony offenses.

An Italian shipping firm based in Genoa, Italy, pleaded guilty to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships by falsifying required ships’ documents to hide the fact that the ship had illegally discharged oil contaminated waste into the ocean on multiple occasions, announced the Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Carbofin S.PA. (Carbofin) agreed to plead…

Noble Drilling (U.S.) LLC was charged with environmental and maritime crimes for operating the drill ship Noble Discoverer and the drilling unit Kulluk in violation of federal law in Alaska in 2012, the Department of Justice announced. Under the terms of a plea agreement filed in federal court today, Noble will plead guilty to eight felony offenses, pay $12.2 million dollars in fines and community service payments, implement a comprehensive Environmental Compliance Plan, and will be placed on probation for four years. In addition, Noble’s parent corporation, Noble Corporation plc, headquartered in London, England, will implement an Environmental…

Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment will receive $375,000. U.S. Attorney S. Amanda Marshall and Oregon Attorney General John Kroger jointly announced that the owner and operator of a Cyprus-based ship pleaded guilty today to felony oil pollution charges. A.E. Nomikos Shipping Inv. Ltd. and Lounia Shipping Co. Ltd. pleaded guilty to one count each of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, and knowingly making false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard. As part of the plea agreement, the companies agreed to pay a $750,000 fine.

Ever since 2005, when the MEPC 60(33) regulation was replaced by MEPC 107(49), the older gravity-type Oily Water Separators (OWS) often had to be replaced by a centrifugal-type or an emulsion breaking cleaning system, or the shipowner chose to complement the existing OWS with additional filters. Many new separators sold today also use exchangeable filter cartridges. The filter-option, involving the least initial investment, can become a costly option for many operators. In many cases, filters need to be changed several times per months and sometimes even more often.

A federal judge in Corpus Christi, Texas, has sentenced General Maritime Management (Portugal), the operator of a fleet of tanker vessels, and two crewmembers of the motor tanker Genmar Defiance for making false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard and failing to maintain an accurate Oil Record Book designed to prevent pollution of the world's oceans as required by United States and international law, the Justice Department announced. The court sentenced General Maritime Management (Portugal) LDA, on March 13, to pay a $1m fine. In addition, the company was sentenced to serve five years of probation. Special conditions of the probation require the company to rehire the whistleblowers if they reapply for employment…