Two German ocean carriers fined for oil dumping

The United States sentenced two German shipping companies, which operated the vessel BBC Magellan, for attempting to hide an oily bilge dumping scheme.    The U.S. Justice Department said German shipping companies Briese Schiffahrts GmbH & Co. KG and Briese Schiffahrts GmbH & Co. KG MS “Extum,” which owned and operated the cargo vessel BBC Magellan, pleaded guilty Tuesday for failing to keep an accurate oil record book, in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, and persuading witnesses to make false statements to the Coast Guard concerning a bypass hose onboard the vessel that was used to discharge oil into the sea.
   The two companies were sentenced to pay $1.25 million in fines and a $250,000 community service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to fund projects that enhance coastal habitats of the Gulf of Mexico.
   In addition, the BBC Magellan is banned from doing business in the United States for the next five years.
   In March 2015, during an inspection of the BBC Magellan at the Port of Pensacola, the Coast Guard discovered an improperly attached rubber hose. The Coast Guard learned that the crew, acting on behalf of the vessel’s owner, installed and illegally used the rubber hose to remove oily wastes from the vessel’s holding tanks and discharged them directly into the ocean. None of these discharges were recorded in the ship’s oil record book, in accordance with U.S. regulations.
   “This egregious behavior by shipping companies, which included intentional deception and witness tampering, will not be tolerated,” Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden said in a statement. “We will continue to prosecute companies and their officers for these crimes.”