Chief engineer of “MSC Elena” pleads guilty in oil spill case

Chief engineer of “MSC Elena” pleads guilty in oil spill case

Chief engineer of “MSC Elena” pleads guilty in oil spill case

   A chief engineer of the containership “MSC Elena” pleaded guilty Tuesday in a federal court in Massachusetts to charges of conspiracy, obstruction, destruction of evidence, false statements and violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships in connection to illegal discharges of oily bilge.
   Mani Singh, an Indian national, could face up to 40 years in prison when he’s sentenced on March 8.
   The U.S. Coast Guard discovered the use of bypass equipment, known as a “magic pipe,” on board the “MSC Elena” during an inspection of the vessel in Boston Harbor on May 16, 2005. Singh then engaged in a cover-up.
   Also this week, MSC Ship Management (Hong Kong) Ltd., the owner of the vessel, agreed to plead guilty to similar charges. If the court accepts the plea, MSC Ship Management will pay $10.5 million. This amount would be the largest ever paid in a case involving deliberate pollution from a single vessel and the largest criminal fine paid by a defendant in an environmental case in Massachusetts's history, the Justice Department said in a statement.
   Additionally, the second engineer of the “MSC Elena,” Aman Mahana, pleaded guilty on Dec. 1 to his role in the conspiracy. He will be sentenced early next year.