The US Department of Justice announced that two Greek shipping companies, Avin International LTD and Nicos I.V. Special Maritime Enterprises, were sentenced in the Eastern District of Texas before Judge Marcia A. Crone on charges for several discharges of oil into the waters of Texas ports by the oil tanker M/T Nicos I.V.
The Master of the Nicos I.V., and the vessel’s Chief Officer, also pleaded guilty to making material false statements to members of the United States Coast Guard during the investigation into the discharges.
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Both companies pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of an agency proceeding, one count of failure to report discharge of oil under the Clean Water Act, and three counts of negligent discharge of oil under the Clean Water Act on November 26, 2018.
Under the plea agreement, the companies will pay a $4 million criminal fine and serve a four-year term of probation, during which vessels operated by the companies will have to implement an environmental compliance plan, including inspections by an independent auditor. The Master and the Chief Officer both pleaded guilty to one count of making a material false statement and were sentenced to pay fines of $10,000 each on December 20, 2018.
According to documents filed in court, the Nicos I.V. was equipped with a segregated ballast system, a connected series of tanks used to control the trim and list of the vessel by taking on or discharging water, the latter involving an operation called deballasting. At some point before July 6, 2017, the ballast system of the Nicos I.V. became contaminated with oil and that oil was discharged twice from the vessel into the Port of Houston on July 6 and July 7, 2017, during deballasting operations.
Both the Master and the Chief Officer were informed of the discharges of oil in the Port of Houston. The Master to report the discharges, which, as the person in charge of the vessel, he was required to do under the Clean Water Act. Neither discharge was recorded in the vessel’s oil record book, as required under MARPOL and the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.
After leaving the Port of Houston, heading to Port Arthur, Texas, oil was observed in several of the ballast tanks. After arriving in Port Arthur, additional oil began bubbling up next to the ship, which was then reported to the US Coast Guard.
During the ensuing investigation, both the Master and the Chief Officer lied to the Coast Guard, stating, among others, that they had not been aware of the oil in the ballast system until after the discharge in Port Arthur, and that they believed that the oil in the ballast tanks had entered them when the vessel took on ballast water in Port Arthur.