Singapore-based ODFJELL and one of its senior crew members pleaded guilty a few days ago in federal court in Hartford, Conn., for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS).
Singapore Shipping Company Pleads Guilty for Illegal Discharge of Oily Waste
March 7, 2014 by 1 Comment
Reasons Illegal Discharges from Ships Occur
December 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Whether an illegal discharge is due to negligence (such as poor maintenance of equipment) or is deliberate (even actively promoted by the company), it is usually the result of action/inaction both on the part of ship operators, and of ship master and crew. On some occasions, violations of pollution regulations may result from lack of awareness by operators and crew. Deliberate illegal discharges occur due to a conjunction of two factors: 1) there are economic advantages for ship operators; 2) there is a low risk of being caught and penalised. Motivations for the individual crew members are slightly different; these are less likely to include cost savings, but may be based on an intention to follow perceived instructions (often implied rather than explicit) and/or fear of losing a job. The following information are an extract from EMSA’s “Addressing Illegal Discharges in the Marine Environment” publication.
Incident Information on Fuel Oil Spill Due to Oily Water Overboard Pipe Corrosion
November 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The following incident took place onboard an oil tanker while the vessel was in port of discharge. Heated fuel oil was found to be seeping from the “oily water” overboard discharge pipe, and the vessel was subsequently detained. As soon as the oil spill was discovered the port heated fuel oil tank was emptied by transferring to another tank and the heated fuel oil tank/piping for the tank closed/sealed.
USCG And OWS Violations
November 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The large, green generators in the engine room of a 292-foot ship moored to a pier in San Francisco grind to life, filling the enclosed space with machine-produced roar. Coast Guard inspectors take a few slow laps around the room looking for malfunctions, leaks, fire risks and safety hazards.
Avoiding the APPS Magic Pipe Trap
November 14, 2012 by 1 Comment
During the 3rd annual SAFETY4SEA forum held in Athens in October 2012, George A.Gaitas, Attorney at Law in Houston Texas Chalos & Co. gave a very interesting speech on how a shipping company may get caught in a whistleblower situation and end up paying heavy fines and/or other penalties without ever committing an actual oil pollution. More than a decade has passed since the United States Department of Justice launched a vigorous campaign to enforce the observance of MARPOL 73/78 Annex I regulations by foreign ships calling at U.S. ports. Some ten years later, one would think that ship owners and ship managers would have caught-on, and found ways to effectively deal with it. Unfortunately it hasn’t worked out that way.
Illegal Dumping of Oil From Ships
November 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Oil in Our Waters is a 22-minute documentary about the illegal dumping of oil from ships. This film explores the extent of the problem, the impact of oil on the marine environment, the creation of MARPOL, the rewards for whistleblowers, and the penalties faced by polluters caught in the United States.
PART 1/3
PART 2/3
PART 3/3
Source: Marine Defenders
German Shipping Companies Guilty for Illegal Dumping of Oil at Sea
November 9, 2012 by 5 Comments
Two German shipping companies pleaded guilty in early November in federal court in Houston to criminal charges that they concealed the illegal dumping of oil at sea from U.S. Coast Guard inspectors. The operator and owner of the commercial cargo vessel MV Susan K, will pay a $1.2 million dollar criminal penalty, $200,000 of which will go to the National Marine Sanctuaries Fund as a community service payment for projects aimed at preserving and restoring the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary located off the Texas coast. As a condition of probation, all vessels owned or operated by the defendants will be prohibited from entering U.S. ports or waters for five years.
Shipping Company Fined for OWS Discharges
September 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment
A Greek shipping company must pay the US federal government $300,000 after admitting that one of its vessels discharged waste oil into the Atlantic Ocean, U.S. Attorney Donald J. Cazayoux Jr. announced Wednesday in Baton Rouge. “The oceans must be protected from shipping companies that look to cut corners by dumping waste improperly,” said Ivan Vikin, special agent-in-charge of the EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Louisiana.
Ship Owner and Chief Engineer Sentenced for Illegal Discharges from Cargo Ship
August 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment
A shipping company headquartered in Italy and the chief engineer of one of its ships were sentenced today in federal court in Mobile, Ala., for deliberately falsifying records to conceal discharges of oily wastewater from the ship directly into the sea. Giusseppe Bottiglieri Shipping Company S.P.A, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Ginny Granade in the Southern District of Alabama to pay a $1 million criminal fine, serve four years of probation, and make a $300,000 community service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The company must also fund and implement a comprehensive environmental compliance plan during the term of probation. Chief Engineer Vito La Forgia was sentenced by Judge Granade to one month in jail.
Oily Water Separators
March 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The story so far
Oily Water Separators (OWS) are being used onboard ships as a regulatory requirement of MARPOL conventions. Their main use is to clear the water that has been accumulated in ship’s bilges and produce water that its contents is within acceptable limits in order to be discharged overboard.
OWS are mainly installed and used onboard to protect the environment and consequently the public interest. Therefore since they don’t produce any “measurable” profit for the ship owner and because they don’t play a critical role to the ship’s structural or operational safety, they don’t get the attention they should be given as a system.
Officer of the Watch 