Ship’s master, engineers arrested in Long Beach on pollution charges

ShipÆs master, engineers arrested in Long Beach on pollution charges    The U.S. Department of Justice said the captain and two engineers on the 'Katerina,' a 16,320-ton cargo vessel, have been arrested on federal pollution charges after the vessel arrived at the Port of Long Beach, Calif.
   After the ship, which carried steel products, had reached its berth, crewmembers contacted dock workers and reported they had been ordered to throw trash, as well as to discharge sewage and oil, into the ocean. A transport workers union representative contacted the U.S. Coast Guard and asked for an inspection of the 'Katerina.'
   Coast Guard inspectors found evidence that the ship's oil-water separator was not being used, and that a pipe system had been rigged to bypass the separator. In addition, there were no working toilets and no hot water on the vessel.
   The Coast Guard arrested Ioannis G. Kallikis, 64, of Greece, who was captain of the 'Katerina'; Edgardo A. Guinto, 49, chief engineer, and Rolan P. Sullesta, 42, second engineer on the ship. Guinto and Sullesta are from the Philippines. All three are charged with attempting to conceal the pollution by maintaining logbooks that failed to note the tainted discharges, the Justice Department said in a statement.
   In addition, Kallikis was charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly telling the chief engineer not to answer questions from Coast Guard investigators. If convicted of the charges, Kallikis could be sentenced to as much as 20 years in a federal prison, and Guinto and Sullesta to maximum terms of 15 years.