Marine Link
Thursday, March 28, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Oil Sludge News

21 Dec 2020

Atlas Incinerators Debuts X10 Titan Range

The new X10 TITAN range from ATLAS Incinerators.

The new X10 Titan range from Atlas Incinerators is designed to save shipowners and shipyards money while shrinking their environmental footprint.For decades it has been customary to use steam, electricity or thermal oil to heat sludge oil prior to its incineration. ATLAS Incinerators’ new X10 TITAN range, has been designed to incinerate sludge oil and simultaneously burn solid waste while consuming an absolute minimum of energy onboard ship.While there is a significant improvement in the X10 Titan’s combustion specifications…

23 Feb 2020

ASCO to Prevent Environmental Damage

Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO) considers environmental protection as one of the key criteria for sustainable development, claimed the company.ASCO constantly pays attention to minimizing the environmentally negative impact of oil sludge, used oils, other liquid and solid emissions resulting from the operation of ships and coastal facilities on water sources, soil and atmosphere. During operations, the ASCO takes necessary preventive measures within its own capabilities.According to the results for 2019, 207967,5 tons of domestic wastewater generated at ASCO coastal and offshore facilities, 13392,2 tons of bilge oil-containing water…

03 Oct 2018

Fines for Cruise Ship Grounding Total $100,000

A French cruise company and ship’s Master have been fined $70,000 and $30,000 respectively for endangering human life and entering a prohibited zone following a grounding incident in the remote New Zealand Subantarctic islands.French company Compagnie du Ponant and Captain Regis Daumesnil, a French citizen, were sentenced Tuesday in the Wellington District Court after pleading guilty to charges following the January 2017 grounding of the cruise ship L’Austral on an uncharted rock at the Snares Islands.Both Maritime NZ and the Department of Conservation (DOC) brought charges against Captain Daumesnil, with DOC also prosecuting the company.

15 May 2018

Financiers Turning the Tide on Shipbreaking Practices

© knovakov / Adobe Stock

The shipping industry has long been criticised by campaigners for allowing vessels to be broken up on beaches, endangering workers and polluting the sea and sand. Now, it is being called to account from a quarter that may have a bit more clout - its financial backers. Norway's $1 trillion Oil Fund, a leader in ethical investing, in February sold its stake in four firms because they scrap on the beach. Three of the firms excluded by Norway's fund - Taiwan's Evergreen Marine, Precious Shipping and Thoresen Thai Agencies (TTA) of Thailand - say they have been unfairly singled out.

19 Oct 2017

Arctic Research Explores the ‘Roomba’ Approach

The pace and quality of oil spill research in the United States typically ebbs and flows as a function of two, if not three important variables. First, after the 1989 Exxon Valdez grounding, there was a flurry of activity to ramp up oil spill research because it had been dormant for so long. The need was recognized, with plenty of money made available. Primarily, this research centered on conventional spill remediation techniques – for example, a tanker or barge spilling oil – and not much else. Predictably, when memory of the spill faded, so did interest in research and funding followed.

01 Sep 2017

Fishing Vessel Owner Convicted for Pollution

A fishing vessel company that operated in and around American Samoa was convicted and sentenced for maintaining false and incomplete records relating to the discharge of oil and garbage, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Environment and Natural Resources Division and United States Attorney Channing D. Phillips. The company, Yuh Fa Fishery (Vanuatu) Co. Ltd., owned the F/V Yuh Fa No. 201, the vessel that was responsible for the pollution. Yuh Fa Fishery (Vanuatu) Co. Ltd., admitted that its engineers failed to document the illegal dumping of oily bilge water into the waters of the South Pacific Ocean without the use of required pollution prevention equipment. The Chief Engineer onboard the F/V Yuh Fa No.

13 Jan 2017

US Sentences Greek Shippers for Obstruction, Pollution

Two Greek shipping companies were sentenced to pay corporate penalties totaling $2.7 million after being convicted for obstructing justice, violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), tampering with witnesses and conspiracy. Each company was ordered to pay part of its penalty to Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary in recognition of the threat posed by illegal discharges of oily waste to the marine environment. The case stems from an inspection of the M/V Ocean Hope, a large cargo ship, conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard at the Port of Wilmington, N.C. in July 2015. During that inspection, senior engineers for the companies tried to hide that the vessel had been dumping oily wastes into the ocean for months.

08 Dec 2016

Ship Engineers Receive Prison Sentences for Pollution Crimes

Cassius Samson, 52, and Rustico Ignacio, 66, both of the Philippines, were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Malcolm Howard for the Eastern District of North Carolina to serve jail time for obstructing a U.S. Coast Guard inspection that took place in July 2015 aboard the cargo ship Ocean Hope at the Port of Wilmington, North Carolina. Samson was sentenced to a term of 12 months in prison followed by a year of supervised release and Ignacio to a term of nine months followed by a year of supervised release. Ignacio was the chief engineer and Samson the second engineer of the Ocean Hope. In September 2016, both were convicted of conspiracy, violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, obstruction of justice and witness tampering, by a federal jury in Greenville, North Carolina.

28 Oct 2016

Tuna Vessel Operator Convicted on Pollution Charges

An American tuna fishing company that regularly unloaded its catch in American Samoa, was convicted and sentenced today for discharging oil into the South Pacific and for maintaining false records, announced Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden of the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips for the District of Columbia. The company, Pacific Breeze Fisheries LLC, owned the Fishing Vessel F/V Pacific Breeze, a tuna purse seiner that was responsible for the pollution. Pacific Breeze Fisheries admitted that its engineers failed to document the illegal dumping of oily bilge water into the waters off American Samoa without the use of required pollution prevention equipment.

06 Sep 2016

Two Greek Shipping Firms Indicted

Greek shipping companies Oceanic Illsabe Limited and Oceanfleet Shipping Limited, and two of their employees, were convicted of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), obstruction of justice, false statements, witness tampering and conspiracy, according to the US Department of Justice. Oceanic Illsabe Limited is the owner of the M/V Ocean Hope, a large cargo vessel that was responsible for dumping tons of oily waste into the Pacific Ocean last year. Oceanfleet Shipping Limited was the managing operator of the vessel. Both companies operate out of Greece. Also convicted at trial were two senior engineering officers who worked aboard the vessel, Rustico Ignacio and Cassius Samson. The jury convicted on each of the nine counts in the indictment.

17 Mar 2016

Green Shipping: Wessels Reederei Takes the Lead

Gerd Wessels, the 45 year old CEO of the Wessels Reederei GmbH, was elected in 2013 as Chairman of the Environmental Committee of the Technical Advisory Board of DNV GL. In this role he has championed a number of pioneering developments, such as the “Environmental Passport – Operation.” (Image: PPM News Service Pospiech)

International trade relies on transportation by sea, as about 85 percent of the freight volumes are shipped globally by vessels. But while maritime is widely regarded as the most environmentally benign of any transport system, maritime transport can cause a diverse environmental burden: It includes, beside the potential for damages and leaks, the inflow of waste water and, in particular, the emissions of air pollutants. Furthermore the improper cleaning of oil sludge, as well as the transfer of organisms into foreign ecosystems within ballast water.

05 Feb 2016

Shipbreaking Practices in 2015 Reveal Appalling Record -Report

Ignoring industry leaders and human rights and environmental organizations, ship owners continue to profit from dangerous and dirty shipbreaking practices on South Asian beaches in 2015, according to new data released today by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform. Of the 768 large oceangoing vessels sold to the scrap yards last year, 469 were broken on the beaches of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh where shipbreaking yards often do not provide fundamental labor rights, ignore international waste trade law and fail to respect international environmental protection standards. One of many accidents that killed or maimed shipbreaking workers last year was a major gas explosion at Shitol Enterprise, a shipbreaking yard in Bangladesh.

14 Dec 2015

Ship Officers Charged in Oil Discharge Cover Up

A federal grand jury in Greenville, North Carolina, has returned a nine-count indictment charging two engineering officers employed by Oceanfleet Shipping Limited with crimes relating to the illegal discharge of oily wastes directly into the sea, announced Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Walker for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Oceanfleet Shipping Limited is a Greek shipping company that operates the cargo carrier M/V Ocean Hope. The two engineering officers indicted are the vessel’s Chief Engineer, Rustico Yabut Ignacio; and Second Engineer, Cassius Flores Samson, bolth of the Philippines.

21 May 2014

Jordanian Shipping Company Pleads Guilty

Jordan-based Arab Ship Management Ltd. pleaded guilty today in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, to one count of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, the Justice Department and the U.S. Coast Guard announced. In accordance with the terms of the plea agreement, Arab Ship Management  Ltd. was sentenced to pay a criminal penalty totaling $500,000 and be placed on probation for two years, during which time ships operated by the company will be banned from calling on ports of the United States.

26 Mar 2012

Shipbreaking Laws to be Tightened by European Union

The European Commission has proposed new rules to ensure that European ships are only recycled in facilities that are safe for workers and environmentally sound. More than 1000 large old commercial ships, such as tankers and container vessels, are recycled for their scrap metal every year, but many European ships end up in substandard facilities on the tidal beaches of South Asia. These facilities mostly lack the environmental protection and safety measures needed to manage the hazardous materials contained in end-of-life ships. These include asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), tributyl tin and oil sludge. This leads to high accident rates and health risks for workers and extensive environmental pollution.

25 May 2010

Ship Operator Fined $725K in Port of Tampa

Aksat Denizcilik Ve Ticaret A.S., a Turkish corporation that operated the commercial ship M/T Kerim, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Tampa, Fla., to two felony counts for knowingly failing to fully and accurately maintain an oil record book, which tracks pollutant discharge, the Justice Department announced. During the hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Richard A. Lazzara sentenced the company to pay a $725,000 fine and to serve three years of probation. The court also ordered the company to implement an environmental compliance plan. Federal and international law requires that all ships comply with pollution regulations requiring…

16 Mar 2010

OSRO Builds Chinese Pollution Control Consortium

In response to regulations enacted on March 1, 2010 on the Prevention and Control of Vessel-Induced Marine Environment Pollution, a Hong Kong based firm – OSRO China Ltd - has laid the foundation for a consortium of oil spill response contractors throughout China’s ports that fulfills China’s latest pollution control legislation. OSRO China was founded as a result of the Chinese Government’s recent approval of the Regulations of The People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Vessel Induced Marine Environment Pollution. Of particular concern to ship owners was the requirement for pollution control agreements to be executed with local Oil Spill Response Organizations for ships carrying hazardous substances or of greater than 10,000 Gross Tonnes (GRT).

10 Jul 2008

B.Navi Sentenced For Pollution-Related Charges

B.Navi Ship Management Services (B.Navi) was sentenced to pay $1.5m and serve three years probation in connection with the illegal dumping of oily sludge, bilge wastes, and oil-contaminated ballast water from the M/V Windsor Castle, a 27,000 gross-ton bulk carrier vessel, Ronald J. Tenpas, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, and Captain William Diehl, Commander of U.S. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston announced. Engine room operations onboard large ocean-going vessels such as the M/V Windsor Castle generate large amounts of waste oil. International and law prohibit the discharge of waste oil without treatment by an Oil Water Separator.

16 Apr 2004

Shipping Company Pleads Guilty

MARMARAS NAVIGATION LTD, a Greek operator of a fleet of ocean going vessels transporting products around the world, recently plead guilty to a felony violation of the "Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships" for improperly documenting the handling of oily waste aboard the marine vessel ("M/V") Agia Eirini. MARMARAS pleaded guilty to a felony violation for failing to maintain proper records associated with the ship's handling of its waste oil. If approved by the court, the plea agreement requires that MARMARAS pay a criminal fine of $200,000, develop and implement a comprehensive environmental compliance plan for its fleet of twenty-eight (28) ships that call on United States ports, and serve three (3) years on probation.

10 Feb 2004

News: OMI Pleads Guilty to Illegal Dump, To Pay $4.2M Fine

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.

22 Jan 2004

GUILTY: OMI to Pay $4.2M Fine for Illegal Dumping

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.

08 Oct 2001

PRI Treatment Helps Meet Emissions Challenges

Power Research Inc. (PRI) is a manufacturer of industrial grade fuel treatments designed to treat heavy fuel oil, diesel and gasoline. Founded in 1985, PRI chemistries incorporate proprietary thermal stability technologies that permit cleaner combustion, reduced emissions, and prevention of deposits on engine components and boiler tubes. PRI offers PRI-R, a heavy fuel oil treatment that overcomes operability issues associated with carbon, vanadium, sulfur and sludge. First, PRI-R is a maintenance product. PRI-R has been proven to prevent carbon and vanadate deposits results in extended time between component overhauls, hence providing added value and reliability to our vessel owners, increasing bottom line profitability.

08 Feb 2008

Shipping Company and Chief Engineer Plead Guilty

Italian shipping company B. Navi Ship Management Services and Chief Engineer Dushko Babukchiev pleaded guilty in connection with the illegal dumping of oily sludge, bilge wastes and oil contaminated ballast water from one of the company’s ships, the M/V Windsor Castle, a 27,000 gross-ton bulk carrier vessel, Assistant Attorney General Ronald J. Tenpas, U.S. Attorney Donald J. DeGabrielle Jr., and U.S. Coast Guard Captain James E. Tunstall announced. B. Navi Ship Management Services pleaded guilty on Feb. 7, 2008, to a two-count criminal information charging it with violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and making materially false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard. Chief Engineer Babukchiev pleaded guilty on Feb.