Planes, Trains and Ships: Criminal Antitrust Enforcement Speeding Up for Transportation Sector
The Biden administration recently issued a sweeping Executive Order [1] aimed at protecting and enhancing competition, and the transportation sector—including air, ocean, and rail—is among the industries specifically identified and likely to see heightened antitrust scrutiny under the new directives. This executive action was soon followed by the long-awaited announcement of Biden’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (Division), Jonathan Kanter, who…
Golar Unit Names New Boss as Former CEO Steps Down Amid Bribery Probe in Brazil
Golar LNG said on Monday Hygo Energy Transition Ltd, a joint venture between Golar and U.S. private equity firm Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, has appointed Paul Hanrahan as chief executive officer after Eduardo Antonello stepped down, following a corruption investigation in Brazil.Antonello has been accused by Brazilian federal prosecutors of bribery in a massive Car Wash corruption probe that in six years has led to the jailing of two former Brazilian presidents and hundreds of executives and politicians, with Brazilian and Dutch police executing dozens of search warrants.Operation Car Wash: Seadrill Served with Search and Seizure…
Golar Unit CEO Takes Leave of Absence Amid Corruption Probe
Golar LNG said on Tuesday Hygo Energy Transition Ltd Chief Executive Officer Eduardo Antonello has taken leave of absence with immediate effect, following a corruption investigation involving him in Brazil.Golar said Antonello's leave was in no way linked to any action or misconduct during his tenure at Hygo Energy, a liquefied natural gas transport and infrastructure operator formed with U.S. private equity firm Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners.Antonello's functions will be taken over temporarily by Hygo's board, Golar said.Last Thursday, Brazilian federal prosecutors accused Antonello of bribery in court filings outlining a new phase of the massive Car Wash graft probe…
Brazil Targets Greek Tanker in Pollution Probe
Brazilian investigators said on Friday a Greek-flagged ship carrying Venezuelan crude was the source of oil tarring thousands of kilometers of coastline over the past two months.While prosecutors and police did not name the vessel, a prosecutors' document obtained by Reuters identified the ship as the Bouboulina, owned by Greece's Delta Tankers Ltd. Police said the tanker appears to have spilled the crude about 700 km (420 miles) off Brazil's coast between July 28-29, bound for Singapore with oil loaded at Venezuela's San José terminal.Delta Tankers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Brazil's solicitor general said the country would seek damages in the case…
Brazil Federal Police Investigate Greek Ship in Connection with Oil Spill
Brazil's federal police on Friday announced a potential breakthrough in the investigation into the causes of a mysterious oil spill that has baffled authorities and Brazilians for about two months.Police said they were investigating a Greek-flagged ship allegedly responsible for the oil spill, which they claim may have occurred about 700 km (420 miles) off the Brazilian coast between July 28-29 after the vessel made a stop in Venezuela.In a statement, federal police said they were carrying out search warrants at addresses linked to a company of Greek nationality.Brazilian authorities said they had also requested cooperation from international agencies…
FBI Seeks Evidence in California Boat Fire
Federal and local investigators on Sunday carried out search warrants involving the owners of a diving boat that caught fire off the California coast in the middle of the night last week, killing 34 people.Agents from the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office searched the offices and two additional vessels owned by Truth Aquatics of Santa Barbara, owner of the Conception, on which the deadly blaze occurred last Monday…
Horizon Lines Issues Statement on Antitrust Investigation
Horizon Lines, Inc has confirmed federal agents served search warrants and a grand jury subpoena relating to an investigation of pricing practices of ocean carriers operating in the trade. Horizon Lines is cooperating fully with the government officials. The company has not been informed of the specific subject matter of the inquiry, being conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division. Horizon Lines does not expect the government inquiry to impact the service levels provided to its customers.
Master and Chief Engineers Arrested
A Ship Captain and Chief Engineers of two foreign flag vessels have been arrested and charged with keeping false log books to conceal the dumping of waste oil and sludge from two ships, obstructing a Coast Guard investigation, and obstruction of justice for allegedly telling crew members to lie to a federal grand jury. The arrests, supported by criminal complaints, were announced by Timothy M. Burgess, United States Attorney for Alaska and Thomas L. Sansonetti, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. The defendants are Doo Hyon Kim, the Captain of the M/V Khana, In Ho Kim, the Chief Engineer of the Khana, and Min Gwen Go, the Chief Engineer of the M/V Sohoh. A preliminary hearing was held today in U.S.
Coast Guard and INS Team Up to Stop Fraud
Coast Guard Investigative Service, Coast Guard Marine Safety Office Miami and Immigration and Naturalization Service agents teamed up to crack two cases of merchant marine document fraud out of Miami July 3. The agencies served and executed search warrants at two locations on the Miami River, helping agents to collect evidence in support of an eight month CGIS investigation; resulting in a series of arrests. The documents seized during this operation included medical certifications, Standards for Training Certification and Watchstanders, employment letters that stated individuals were employees of maritime companies to help obtain U.S.
NOAA Fisheries Special Agents Assist In Disaster Investigation
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.
