German carrier sentenced for oily bilge dumping

A U.S. District Court in Portland, Maine, ordered MST to pay a $3.2 million fine and implement an environmental compliance plan for its vessels.    German shipping company MST Mineralien Schiffahrt Spedition und Transport GmbH pleaded guilty and was sentenced Friday in Portland, Maine, for obstructing justice and concealing deliberate pollution dumping from its ship, Marguerita. 
   The company specifically pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and one count of obstructing justice by using falsified logbooks to hide illicit discharges of oily bilge over a nine-month period when making calls at the Port of Portland. 
   U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced MST to pay a $3.2 million criminal fine and serve a four-year term of probation during which its vessels will be required to implement an environmental compliance plan, including inspections by an independent auditor.
   This wasn’t the first time MST has been convicted of U.S. environmental crimes. In 2016, the company was part of a federal case in the District of Minnesota for falsifying the oil record book of its vessel, Cornelia, in the Great Lakes.