Tanker Owner as well as Operator Fined $3 Million for Air Pollution Crimes in UNITED STATE Caribbean ECA
MTOcean Princess Photo: MarineTraffic.com/Capt Tony Powell
The Greek proprietor as well as driver of a Panama- flagged oil items vessel, together with the vessel’s elderly policemans, have actually been founded guilty of air contamination criminal offenses in the United States for utilizing shelter gas that surpassed the optimum allowed sulfur restriction in the united state Caribbean Emission Control Area.
The vessel, the MT Ocean Princess, was possessed by Lily Shipping as well as run by Ionian Shipping & &Trading Both have actually been founded guilty as well as punished to pay a $1.5 million each for numerous contamination, recordkeeping, as well as blockage of justice criminal offenses connected to the procedure of the vessel.
The vessel’s Master, Stamatios Alekidis, together with Chief Officer, Rey Espulgar, as well as Chief Engineer, Athanasios Pittas have actually additionally been founded guilty for their duties in the criminal offenses.
According to the UNITED STATE Justice Department, while participated in moving oil items throughout the Caribbean in between January 3, 2017, as well as July 10, 2018, the MT Ocean Princess participated in, as well as ran within, the UNITED STATE Caribbean ECA utilizing gas which contained a sulfur web content that surpassed the 0.10% sulfur on twenty-six different celebrations.
“The fuel was petroleum cargo that had been transferred to the fuel tanks as authorized by the vessel’s commercial manager,” theJustice Dept claimed in a news release. “Once notification was received from Master STAMATIOS ALEKIDIS, Chief Officer REY ESPULGAR coordinated with Chief Engineer ATHANASIOS PITTAS to make the transfers from the cargo tanks to the bunker tanks. REY ESPULGAR then falsified the Oil Record Book, Part II, by failing to record that cargo had been transferred to the bunker tanks. ATHANASIOS PITTAS also falsified the Oil Record Book, Part I, by falsely recording that the fuel in the bunker tank originated from a shore-side company in St. Martin, F.W.I. Additionally, ATHANASIOS PITTAS created fictitious Bunker Delivery Notes that claimed the fuel in the bunkers came from the same shore-side company in St. Martin, F.W.I. Between March 2, 2016, and February 6, 2018, nineteen separate fictitious Bunker Delivery Notes were created on and kept aboard the vessel.”
UNITED STATE Coast Guard assessors boarded the MT Ocean Princess on July 10, 2018, as well as found that the vessel was utilizing gas with an extreme sulfur web content. During the examination, Chief Officer Rey Espulgar advised several of the lower-ranking team participants to exist to the assessors concerning where the gas originated from.
In enhancement to the criminal penalty, Ionian Shipping as well as Lily Shipping will certainly each be positioned on 4 years probation as well as purchased to carry out an ecological conformity strategy.
The policemans were punished to 3 years probation throughout which they can not go back to the United States on a ship. Espulgar was additionally fined $3,000.00.
