FLORIDA
Gremex Shipping, a Mexican company, pled guilty in Pensacola, Florida, for falsifying records to hide illegal discharges of oily bilge waste from its ship, the M/V Suhar. This violates the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS).
The charge came after a Coast Guard inspection when the Suhar, a Panamanian-flagged bulk carrier transporting cemen
t between Mexico and Pensacola, arrived on August 25, 2023. Coast Guard officials found that the crew had been dumping untreated oily water into the ocean and falsifying records to cover it up.
Ships like the Suhar produce oily bilge water that must be safely discharged. Under international law, ships must use equipment to remove oil before discharge and keep records to show compliance. U.S. law requires accurate records from foreign ships arriving in its ports.
The court ordered Gremex to pay a $1.75 million fine, serve four years of probation, and follow an environmental compliance plan during that time.
Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney Jason R. Coody for the Northern District of Florida made the announcement.
The Coast Guard’s Investigative Service investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Joel La Bissonniere of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Love for the Northern District of Florida prosecuted the case.