More oily waste problems at U.S. companies

More oily waste problems at U.S. companies    The U.S. Justice Department said the former chief engineer of a U.S.-flagged car-carrier pled guilty to criminal charges related to the deliberate discharge of oil-contaminated bilge waste through a 'magic pipe' that bypassed required pollution prevention equipment.
   Frank Coe, former chief engineer of the Fidelio, renamed the Patriot, pled guilty on Tuesday of conspiracy and violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships before U.S. District Judge William M. Nickerson, the Justice Department said.
   He was employed by Pacific Gulf Marine Inc. (PGM), a vessel operator based in Gretna, La., that previously pleaded guilty to its role in deliberately discharging hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil-contaminated bilge waste from four car-carrier ships, including the Fidelio.
   During a March 29, 2003, inspection, Coast Guard inspectors in Baltimore lifted a deck plate and found a permanently installed bypass pipe on the Fidelio that was part of the ship's original construction. The Coast Guard directed the removal of the bypass pipe — referred to by some in the maritime industry as a 'magic pipe' — and found that it was filled with black oil, according to a statement filed in court.
   The Justice Department said Coe was the chief engineer of the ship on that day, and falsely denied any knowledge of the existence or use of the bypass although it had been used since 1998. The ship's oil record book, a required log in which all overboard discharges must be recorded, had been falsified to conceal illegal discharges made without the use of an oily water separator, a required pollution prevention device that the Justice Department said Coe admitted was 'rarely if ever used.' Coe also continued to bypass the oily water separator using a new bypass method after the Coast Guard discovered and removed the bypass pipe, according to papers filed in court.
   Engine room operations on board large ocean-going vessels generate large amounts of waste oil and oil-contaminated bilge waste. International and U.S. law prohibit the discharge of waste containing more than 15 parts per million oil and without treatment by an oil water separator and oil sensing equipment.
   Meanwhile, a different company, New York-based Overseas Shipholding Group said this week that on March 2 it had self-reported to the Justice Department allegations concerning the company's handling of waste oils and maintenance of books and records on one of its foreign-flag vessels.
   OSG said the Justice Department is investigating the allegations and the company is cooperating with the investigation.
   It said the investigation is preliminary and no charges have been filed.