{"id":17212,"date":"2015-11-10T11:34:51","date_gmt":"2015-11-10T19:34:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=17212"},"modified":"2015-11-10T11:36:41","modified_gmt":"2015-11-10T19:36:41","slug":"norwegian-shipping-co-workers-convicted-of-dumping-20000-gallons-of-oil-into-ocean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=17212","title":{"rendered":"Norwegian Shipping Co. Workers Convicted of Dumping 20,000 Gallons of Oil into Ocean"},"content":{"rendered":"

ALABAMA<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\"u.s.<\/a>A federal jury convicted Det Stavangerske Dampskibsselskab<\/strong> AS or DSD Shipping along with three employees of the private shipping company that operates crude oil tankers \u00a0with environmental crimes for dumping 20,000 gallons of contaminated oil into the ocean, officials announced today.<\/p>\n

Also DSD Shipping and the three workers were convicted of obstruction of justice witness tampering, conspiracy and violating the\u00a0Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships .<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The jury convicted three senior engineering officers, Bo Gao, Xiaobing Chen<\/strong> and Xin Zhong,<\/strong> employed by DSD Shipping to work aboard the vessel.<\/p>\n

A fourth employee, Daniel Paul Dancu,<\/strong> plead guilty in October, according to officials.<\/p>\n

DSD Shipping could be fined up to $500,000 per count, in addition to other possible penalties. Gao, Chen and Zhong are facing up to 20 years in prison.<\/p>\n

The operation of marine vessels, like the M\/T Stavanger Blossom<\/strong>, generates large quantities of waste oil and oil-contaminated waste water.<\/p>\n

International and U.S. law requires that these vessels use pollution prevention equipment, known as an oily-water separator, to preclude the discharge of these materials.<\/p>\n

Any overboard discharges occur, they must be documented in an oil record book, a log that is regularly inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard, officials said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe oceans cannot be used as dumping grounds,\u201d said Acting Special Agent in Charge Andy Castro of the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s criminal enforcement program in Alabama.<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cThe defendants in this case falsified entries in their vessel\u2019s log books to hide the true nature of its open water discharges.\u00a0 Today\u2019s guilty verdict by a jury should serve as a warning to would-be violators that the American people will not allow the flagrant violation of U.S. laws.\u201d<\/p>\n

The evidence presented during the two-week trial against the Norwegian shipping company indicated the following:<\/strong><\/p>\n