Kassian Maritime Navigation Agency is Guilty of Falsifying Pollution Records

The Department of Justice announced on Monday that Kassian Maritime Navigation Agency, Ltd., a shipping company based in Athens, Greece, pleaded guilty to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships by maintaining a false record with regard to dumping bilge and wastewater into the ocean. The Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships prohibits the discharge into the sea of oil, noxious substances, plastics and other garbage and applies to all U.S. ships and ships in U.S. waters.

The press release states that the North Princess cargo ship was boarded by the U.S. Coast Guard for a routine inspection on Nov. 6, 2006. The vessel was in port in Jacksonville, Fla. During the inspection to evaluate the ship's compliance with environmental laws, it was determined that the Kassian Maritime Navigation Agency, acting knowingly through its employees and agents, had failed to maintain accurate oil book records pertaining to the overboard discharges and disposal of oil residue.

An indictment was handed down in March 2007, charging Kassian and the cargo ship's Second Engineer, Spyridon Markou, with violating environment laws. As part of Monday's plea agreement between the parties, Spyridon Markou admitted making false statements to the Coast Guard in terms of his knowledge of the ship's use of what is known in the trade as a "magic pipe." The term refers to an illegal bypass pipe that's used to transfer oil-contaminated waste overboard, instead of sending it through an oil water separator.

Large vessels such as the North Princess cargo ship generate large amounts of waste oil from engine room operations, and the law requires not only that waste oil be treated by an oil water separator, but that all overboard discharges be accurately recorded in the vessel's oil record book.

The press release says that the company, Kassian, pled guilty to one count of maintaining false records, and Markou pled guilty to a charge of making false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard in relation to the Nov. 2006 inspection. Although a formal sentencing date has not yet been set, the plea agreement calls for Kassian to pay a $1 million fine, serve 30 months on probation, and pay $300,000 to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Foundation to fund community service projects. Also, Kassian will put into place an environmental compliance program to prevent future violations of this nature. As for Markou, he faces a maximum of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and post-prison supervision for as many as three years.

Source:

Press release, Shipping Company Pleads Guilty to Vessel Pollution-Related Charges; http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2007/July/07_enrd_536%20%20%20.html