• 2016 July 18 10:46

    Liberian ship management company, vessel owner, and three engineering officers indicted for environmental crimes and conspiracy

    A federal grand jury in Charleston, South Carolina, returned an indictment today charging Aegean Shipping Management S.A. and Aegeansun Gamma Inc. with obstruction of an agency proceeding, conspiracy and failing to keep accurate pollution control records. Three engineering officers were charged with related offenses, the US Department of Justice said.

    The charges stem from the 2015 falsification of records and obstruction designed to cover up overboard discharges of oily mixtures and machinery space bilge water from the Liberian-flagged chemical tanker, T/V Green Sky.  The vessel’s management company, Aegean Shipping Management of Liberia and the vessel’s owner, Aegeansun Gamma of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, are charged with failing to maintain an accurate oil record book as required by the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), a U.S. law which implements the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, commonly known as “MARPOL.”  The companies were also charged with falsification of records, obstruction and conspiracy.

    The individuals, Panagiotis Koutoukakis and Herbert Julian, both former Chief Engineers of the T/V Green Sky and Nikolaos Bounovas, the former Second Engineer onboard the vessel, were charged with aiding and abetting the failure to maintain an accurate oil record book, falsification of federal records and conspiracy.  Julian is facing an additional obstruction charge.

    The investigation into illegal activity onboard the vessel began in late August 2015 when the vessel arrived in the Port of North Charleston, South Carolina and members of the engine room staff told the U.S. Coast Guard that they had been ordered to bypass the ship’s oil water separator on multiple occasions.  In a related case, on Feb. 18, the former captain of the T/V Green Sky, Genaro Anciano, pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction for knowingly making false and misleading oral and written statements in an effort to impede the Coast Guard’s investigation of the bypass allegations.

    The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned in Charleston on July 26.  An indictment is merely an accusation and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

    The case was investigated by agents of the Coast Guard Investigative Service.  The case is being prosecuted by Christopher Hale of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Austin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina.


2024 March 29

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11:46 The "Ane Maersk" calls at the Eurogate container terminal in Hamburg for the first time on its maiden voyage from Asia to Europe
11:20 Sallaum Lines and Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding commence construction of Ocean Class vessels
10:43 Oasis Marine develops solutions for offshore hydrogen bunkering
10:03 Petrofac secures contract extension with ONEgas West in the UK market

2024 March 28

18:05 Jan De Nul, ENGIE and Equans launch a pilot project centred around the use of Vanadium Redox Flow batteries
17:35 Latvian port equipment manufacturer Bleste introduces new bulk handling ‘bucket’
17:05 Investors upgrade Navios Maritime Partners
16:25 DEME reports 22% increase in the orderbook and a record-high turnover of 3.3 billion euros in 2023
16:14 MABUX: Bunker Outlook, Week 13, 2024
15:41 AD Ports Group announced the opening of Saadiyat Marina & Ferry Terminal and Rabdan Marina
15:11 Sydney invests $11.5 million in two new operational vessels designed by Incat Crowther
14:55 China’s Jinzhao wins Peru $405m port construction contract
14:13 APM Terminals Moín handled six million TEU
13:48 ClassNK grants Innovation Endorsements for Products & Solutions to two innovative initiatives by MOL
13:37 Konecranes launches its flagship Konecranes X-series industrial crane
12:53 United European Car Carriers UECC spearheads collaboration with industry leaders to advance CNSL as a sustainable marine fuel
12:26 Ocean Network Express announces Transpacific service
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10:42 Maersk transported more than 660,000 TEU using clean fuel in 2023
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2024 March 27

18:22 Bureau Veritas awards world’s first prototype certification for SolarDuck’s floating offshore solar solution
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17:38 The Port of Rotterdam calls on the European Commission and Parliament to focus on actively promoting green energy
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14:53 Ocean Installer secures yet another SLM contract with Equinor
14:23 Cadeler signs offshore wind turbine installation contract for the vessel Wind Scylla
13:42 Carnival Cruise Line orders 5th Excel-class cruise ship
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12:52 The Port Authority of Valencia launches the ZAL project in the Port of Valencia
12:11 Clarkson Port Services and Peak Group collaborate to deliver Port Agency services across the North Sea
11:42 Wan Hai Lines holds ship naming ceremony for new vessels
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10:49 Seaspan Shipyards receives long-term contracts for the pre-construction work of the the Canadian Coast Guard's first six multi-mission vessels
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2024 March 26

18:02 COSCO Shipping Lines introduces new Americas service
17:30 Davie awarded first contract for design of icebreaker fleet under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy
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16:57 Terntank places an order for 1+1 additional wind/ methanol-ready hybrid tanker
16:28 BW LNG completes acquisition of two TFDE vessels from Stena Bulk
15:50 Hanwha Ocean develops VR-based special vehicle simulator
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14:52 Wärtsilä Lifecycle Agreement to guarantee operational reliability of new wind farm installation vessel
14:23 Hudong-Zhonghua launches two LNG carriers
13:51 Cargo ship hits Baltimore’s Key Bridge
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12:42 Adani Ports acquires 95% of Odisha's Gopalpur Port from SP Group for $162 million
12:21 IHI and Yara Clean Ammonia agree to jointly assess clean ammonia business collaboration
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11:16 Wartsila and Royal Caribbean Group celebrate 15 years of collaboration on digital transformation
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2024 March 25

18:07 The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore continues to investigate reports of oil spills off the port of Tuas
17:31 “K” Line, NIPPON HAKUYO and OPT Gate sign an agreement for a new fire detection system for car carriers
17:07 Greek merchant fleet recorded slight decline in January 2024
16:47 Hanwha Ocean Plans to develop green technology and naval ships
16:25 U-Ming Singapore and ITOCHU sign milestone MoU for the joint development of ammonia dual-fuel and de-carbonized vessels
15:34 Svitzer targets methanol-fuelled MAN 175DF-M engine for tug application
15:04 Wallenius Wilhelmsen signs contracts for four 9,300 CEU vessels with China Merchants Jinling Shipyard
14:40 Taiwan International Port to upgrade terminal facility at Kaohsiung
13:59 Сruise ship Carnival Freedom catches fire near Bahamas
12:59 Hanwha Ocean wins 2.4 tln-won order for 8 LNG ships
11:16 Inland Ports meet in Paris to talk about the innovation potential of inland ports
10:50 IMO agrees possible outline for maritime “net-zero framework”
10:24 Hapag-Lloyd to continue to avoid the Red Sea route
09:58 QatarEnergy enters time charter agreements with Nakilat for the operation of 25 LNG vessels

2024 March 24

16:18 Inchgreen Marine Park upgraded as part of £11m investment
15:14 A ribbon-cutting ceremony for Solent Rail Terminal Rail was held at the Port of Southampton