OSG will pay $37 million for pollution

OSG will pay $37 million for pollution The U.S. Justice Department said Overseas Shipholding Group will pay a $37 million penalty, which it said is the largest-ever penalty for concealing vessel pollution.
   OSG will also plead guilty to 33 felony counts related to deliberate vessel pollution from nine ships and false pollution log entries in three additional ships.
   Under the agreement between Justice and OSG announced Tuesday, the company will plead guilty to charges related to illegal dumping of waste oil, criminal violations of the Clean Water Act/Oil Pollution Act and the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, conspiracy, false statements and obstruction of justice.
   “A motive for the crimes was financial — OSG was saving the cost of offloading waste oil in port and the time it would take to comply with the law,” the Justice Department said.
   In April 2005, Taiwanese container line Evergreen Marine agreed to pay $25 million for multiple instances of illegally discharging waste oil. Later that year, MSC Ship Management (Hong Kong) Ltd. pleaded guilty to U.S. charges that it illegally discharged oil and agreed to pay $10.5 million, the largest fine ever against a single vessel for deliberate oil pollution.
   Earlier this year, American ship operator Pacific Gulf Marine pleaded guilty to criminal charges that its fleet of four vessels committed illegal oil discharges. As part of the plea agreement, Pacific Gulf Marine was scheduled to pay a $1 million criminal fine and $500,000 for community service.