DELAWARE – A Jordanian shipping company that illegally dumped oily waste off Delaware’s waters was fined $500,000 today and banned from calling on ports in the United States for two years.
Jordan-based Arab Ship Management Ltd. pleaded guilty today in federal court in Wilmington to one count of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, the Justice Department and the U.S. Coast Guard announced.
“The defendant violated environmental laws that protect our marine environment from harmful pollution,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware Charles M. Oberly III. “The message to the shipping industry is clear: environmental crimes at sea will not be tolerated.”
According to court documents, Arab Ship Management Ltd. operated the M/V Neameh, a 6,398 gross ton ocean-going livestock carrier.
On March 28, 2013, the U.S. Coast Guard boarded the vessel in the Delaware Bay Big Stone Anchorage to conduct an inspection, according to officials.
The inspection and subsequent criminal investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard revealed heavy oil sludge inside the piping on the discharge side of the pollution prevention equipment leading directly overboard, where no oil sludge should be if the pollution prevention equipment is operated properly.
Inspectors also discovered that the vessel’s piping arrangement had been modified in a prohibited manner so as to allow oil sludge to be pumped directly overboard, officials said.
This prohibited piping arrangement was removed prior to the vessel’s arrival in Delaware.
Also during the inspection, Coast Guard officers were presented with two oil record books which are required by law to be accurately maintained onboard the vessel. These two oil record books contained different and contradictory entries for the time period of Nov. 30, 2011, through Jan. 2, 2012, as well as fake oily waste disposal receipts, officials claim.
In its web site, Arab Ship Management states ” responsible operational procedures are crucial to both safety and the protection of the environment. ASM’s own environmental policy is part of the company’s overall policy regarding the safe management of vessels. We involve all ship’s crew and shore based staff in the implementation of the environmental policy procedures.”