Ship operator fined in oily water discharge case

Ship operator fined in oily water discharge case The operator of a Panamanian-flag bulk carrier Tuesday was fined $750,000 in an oily water discharge case.
   According to a report on the Web site of KNDO in Yakima, Wash., Irika Maritime was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to a $500,000 fine, a special assessment of $250,000 in community service payments and four years of probation.
   The company was charged with failing to maintain an accurate oil record book in an attempt to conceal illegal discharges of oily sludge directly into the ocean.
   Under terms of the plea agreement, the $250,000 special assessment will be split equally between the Columbia River Estuarine Coastal Fund and the Puget Sound Marine Conservation Fund, which are administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for projects to restore and protect fragile marine habitats.
   The fine grew out of a routine inspection of the ship by the Coast Guard on Oct. 5.