A ship captain has pleaded guilty to one felony count for obstructing a United States Coast Guard (USCG) investigation into pollution crimes aboard his ship following investigation in late August 2015 into the bypass of pollution prevention equipment, including the use of a “magic device” onboard a 30,263 GT petroleum and chemical tanker.
It was the highest ranking officer aboard the Green Sky who pleaded guilty to obstructing a USCG investigation into pollution crimes aboard his ship. This was after the USCG discovered that members of the ship’s engine room, including a senior officer, illegally discharged oily bilge waste overboard. The ship’s captain then proceeded to make several false and misleading statements to the USCG to cover up the illegal conduct.
In accordance with MARPOL, all overboard discharges from the Green Sky should have been recorded in the oil record book. However, a bypass of the oily water separator, which is not recorded in the oil record book, was used, jeopardising the accuracy and integrity of that document. It is a separate federal crime for oceangoing vessels to enter a U.S. port with a false oil record book.
The case was investigated by the USCG Investigative Service with assistance from inspectors from Sector Charleston as well as Legal from U.S. Coast Guard in Miami. The captain pleaded guilty to one count of Obstruction of an Agency Proceeding in federal court in Charleston, South Carolina. The sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
The Guide to Maritime Environmental & Efficiency Management
BIMCO’s Guide to Maritime Environmental & Efficiency Management, developed in partnership with maritime efficiency specialists Fathom, and supported by ClassNK, provides a resource to facilitate compliance with environmental regulations and assist owners and operators in the development of an environmental and efficiency management system.
There are three resources within the Guide to Maritime Environmental & Efficiency Management:
Part One – The Framework gives guidance on developing and implementing a maritime-specific environmental and efficiency management system, using a modular approach.
Part Two – The Handbook is a compendium of technical and regulatory information and advisory resources – the technical counterpart to Part One. It covers the whole spectrum of environmental issues related to ship operations.
Part Three – The Templates is an extensive library of templates in the form of logbooks, forms and data collection tools that support the information provided in Part Two.
Together, these three parts provide an essential tool that will support any organisation in the maritime industry to develop an effective environmental and efficiency management system that suits the organisation and can be adapted to changing circumstances.
For more information, or to purchase this publication please click here
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