Judge sets $70,000 fine for oily discharge in Canadian waters

Judge sets $70,000 fine for oily discharge in Canadian waters    A Newfoundland and Labrador provincial court judge has fined a Dutch shipowner $70,000 after an oily water discharge from a cargo vessel transiting Canadian waters.
   In 2003, a Canadian marine surveillance plane detected an oil slick in the wake of the 'Project Europa,' which was 65 miles south of Cape Race, Newfoundland, traveling from Spain to Montreal.
   Officials of Transport Canada Marine Safety boarded the ship when it arrived at Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. A subsequent investigation showed that, at the time of the sighting, the ship's engineers were working on an oily water separator and had discharged water that contained oil into the sea.
   The vessel owner, Biglift Goedkoop B.V. of Amsterdam, pleaded guilty Aug. 26 and paid the fine in court.