Ship owner and operator sentenced for environmental crimes - DoJ
Greek-based corporations ordered to pay $2 million criminal fine for tampering with pollution prevention equipment and failing to immediately report hazardous conditions on the Mississippi River
Empire Bulkers Limited and Joanna Maritime Limited, two related companies based in Greece, were sentenced on Jan 19 for committing knowing and willful violations of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and the Ports and Waterways Safety Act related to their role as the operator and owner of the Motor Vessel (M/V) Joanna, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
The prosecution stems from a March 2022 inspection of the M/V Joanna in New Orleans that revealed that required pollution prevention equipment had been tampered with to allow fresh water to trick the sensor designed to detect the oil content of bilge waste being discharged overboard. The ship’s oil record book, a required log presented to the U.S. Coast Guard, had been falsified to conceal the improper discharges..
During the same inspection, the Coast Guard also discovered an unreported safety hazard. Following a trail of oil drops, inspectors found an active fuel oil leak in the engine room where the pressure relief valves on the fuel oil heaters, a critical safety device necessary to prevent explosion, had been disabled. In pleading guilty, the defendants admitted that the plugging of the relief valves in the fuel oil purifier room and the large volume of oil leaking from the pressure relief valve presented hazardous conditions that had not been immediately reported to the Coast Guard in violation of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act. Had there been a fire or explosion in the purifier room, it could have been catastrophic and resulted in a loss of propulsion, loss of life, and pollution, according to a joint factual statement filed in court.
“Make no mistake, willful tampering with required pollution control equipment and falsifying official ship logs to conceal illegal discharges are serious criminal offenses,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “In concealing major safety problems from the Coast Guard, the defendants here not only violated the law, but also recklessly risked the lives of the crew and the environment.”
“This ship owner and manager operated their foreign flagged vessel in U.S. waters in deliberate violation of the environmental and safety laws designed to protects our ports and waters,” said U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans for the Eastern District of Louisiana. “Illegal, deceitful and dangerous conduct will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
U.S. District Court Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon sentenced the two related companies to pay $2 million ($1 million each) and serve four years of probation subject to the terms of a government approved environmental compliance plan that includes independent ship audits and supervision by a court-appointed monitor.
The U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service investigated the case with assistance from Coast Guard Sector New Orleans and the Eighth Coast Guard District
Senior Litigation Counsel Richard A. Udell of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney G. Dall Kammer for the Eastern District of Louisiana prosecuted the case.