Ocean vessel operating company Zeaborn Ship Management (Singapore) pleaded guilty to maintaining false and incomplete records relating to the discharge of oily bilge water and garbage on board the vessel Star Maia, the US Department of Justice said.
According to the release by the office of justice, in its plea, Zeaborn has agreed to pay a total monetary penalty of $2 million.
According to court documents, the company Zeaborn and the chief engineer admitted to dumping more than 7,500 gallons of oily bilge water from the Star Maia into the ocean, at least four times between June and October 2022, without first processing the oily bilge water through required pollution prevention equipment.
They also admitted that these discharges were falsely recorded in the oil record book as having been made using the vessel’s pollution prevention equipment when the equipment had not been used.
The company and captain also admitted to burning garbage, including paper, plastics and oily rags in barrels on the Star Maia’s deck. The barrels were then thrown into the ocean. “This garbage burning and barrel disposal was not recorded in the vessel’s garbage record book, as required by law,” as said by the US department of Justice.
“Unlawful oil discharges can cause significant harm to the marine environment,” said acting U.S. attorney Andrew Haden for the Southern District of California. “We will continue to safeguard our oceans by vigorous enforcement of environmental laws. Today’s case is a reflection of that commitment.”
As it said in the press release of the office of public affairs, US department of justice, Zeaborn chief engineer and captain each pleaded guilty to one felony violation of the APPS for failing to accurately maintain the oil and garbage record books for the Star Maia.
