Jury acquits Greek tanker crew of obstruction, lying charges
A California federal court has acquitted the owners of a Greek tanker and several members of the vessel's crew of conspiracy, lying to U.S. Coast Guard officials and obstruction charges over alleged illegal waste dumping by the vessel.
The whistle blower case stemmed from the charges of six Filipino crewmen aboard the Athenian Sea Carrier-owned tanker Captain X Kyriakou. The crewmen alleged to Coast Guard officials last November that the vessel engaged in illegal discharging into the ocean through a bypass pipe in violation of international law. The six crewmen all testified during the trial to various violations by the vessel crew, including being ordered to lie to Coast Guard investigators about the violations.
While the trial revolved around the illegal dumping, the actual charges did not involve the international violations. The dumping charges must, under international law, be prosecuted by the vessel's flag country. The state case was allowed because the vessel was in a California port when the Filipino crewmen's allegations were made. While prosecutors in the California case were not being able to bring charges for the dumping, they did bring charges alleging that the vessel's crew engaged in making false statements to inspectors, falsifying the vessel's oil record book, obstructing the Coast Guard investigation and destroying evidence related to the case.
Despite the allegations of the six whistleblower crewmen, the jury found fault with numerous contradiction in their individual testimonies. The defense attorneys for the shipping line and charged crewmen pointed to a U.S. program that pays reward money for whistleblowers as a possible motive for the Filipino crewmen to lie.
The Eastern District federal court case represents only the second trial, and first acquittal, of a case by a U.S. jury based on the controversial MARPOL-related charge of maintaining false oil discharge record books. Other's charged under the regulation have negotiated guilty pleas before trial. MARPOL is a treaty ratified and implemented by the United States, and U.S. law limit the oil content of discharges from ships to not more than 15 parts per million.
Jury acquits Greek tanker crew of obstruction, lying charges
