MOBILE, Ala., April 9 (UPI) -- Dutch shipping company DSD was fined $2.5 million in U.S. federal court for operating a crude oil tanker without the proper environmental safeguards in the Gulf of Mexico, and lying to the Coast Guard about it.
The company was convicted of eight felonies. Additionally, four crew members were also charged. Three have been convicted and sentenced to up to six months in jail. A fourth crew member has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
The sentences were announced by the U.S. Justice Department on Friday. It stems from a November 2014 spot inspection of DSD's 56,000-ton crude oil tanker the M/T Stavanger Blossom by the Coast Guard. Officers determined the ship lacked what is known as an oily water separator. Crude oil tankers generate large amounts of oil-contaminated wastewater, which is illegal to discharge without first being filtered.
If accidental discharges happen, they are supposed to be recorded in a log the crew is legally bound to maintain. When the Coast Guard boarded the ship for a spot inspection, officers said it did not have the proper environmental equipment and the crew had forged the logs to hide the fact they were illegally discharging the oily wastewater.
The Coast Guard said the ship had discharged 20,000 gallons of oil-contaminated water in just the last two months of its operation.
Additionally, prosecutors presented evidence that showed DSD officials were aware the ship was operating illegally. A company memo dating back to 2010 showed evidence DSD officials were aware of the potential problem, but continued to allow the ship to operate in violation of U.S. and international laws for another 57 months.
A U.S. district judge ordered DSD to pay $500,000 of the $2.5 million fine to fund marine research in the Gulf Coast region. Additionally, DSD was placed on three years' probation. The four crew members named will have their merchant marine licenses revoked and will no longer be allowed to work on cargo vessels in the future.
