Egyptian Tanker Company and Thome Ship Management have been fined US $1.9m for illegally dumping oil-contaminated bilge water and garbage into the ocean off Port Arthur, Texas, and then covering it up.
Egyptian Tanker Company, based in Cairo, and Singapore-based Thome Ship Management, owner and operator of the oil tanker ship ETC Mena, have violated the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and obstructed the court of justice by carrying out these actions.
The US Department of Justice plans to ‘aggressively prosecute criminal acts that pollute the oceans.’ It reports that this was a deliberate act to mislead US Coast Guard officials and ignore international laws that are in place to protect the ocean environment from pollution.
It is not just direct impacts to the natural environment that cause concern but also the impact it has upon clean water that citizens require for both recreation and livelihoods. Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston for the Eastern District of Texas calls such behaviour irresponsible conduct and Rear Admiral Dave Callahan, Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District says that the United States will not tolerate these actions and violators will be held accountable.
According to the US Department of Justice, a crew member onboard the ETC Mena reported that the ship had dumped bilge waste overboard. The USCG’s inspection found a pump covered in oil submerged in the ship’s bilge primary tank that looked similar to the pump that the crew member said was used to pump the bilge waste overboard.
The companies pleaded guilty to by-passing the ship’s oily water separator and discharging bilge water into the ocean in March 2016. Crew members were instructed to throw plastic garbage bags filled with metal and incinerator ash into the sea. Neither of these were recorded in the ship’s oil Record Book and Garbage Record Book. The companies also pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for presenting these false documents to the USCG during the inspection in Port Arthur, Texas.
The companies will be placed on a four-year term of probation that includes a comprehensive environmental compliance plan. This will ensure that all ships operated by Thome Ship Management that enter the US are compliant with all national and international marine environmental protection requirements.
The shipping companies will also pay for restoration efforts at three wildlife refuges on the Gulf of Mexico in addition to the fine of $1.9m.
Image: ETC Mena, Egyptian Tanker Company.
For further detail see the US Department of Justice’s website.
Fathom-News
editor@fathom-mi.com
