Tanker operator fined $725,000

Tanker operator fined $725,000    A Turkish corporation that operated the tanker Kerim, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Tampa, Fla., to two felony counts for knowingly failing to fully and accurately maintain an oil record book, which tracks pollutant discharge, the U.S. Justice Department said last week.
   During the hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Richard A. Lazzara sentenced the company Aksat Denizcilik Ve Ticaret A.S., to pay a $725,000 fine and to serve three years of probation. The court also ordered the company to implement an environmental compliance plan.
   On March 24, 2009, the U.S. Coast Guard, based on information from several of the Kerim's crewmembers, boarded and inspected the ship at the Port of Tampa and discovered a “magic pipe” used to bypass the ship's oil pollution prevention equipment. Officers and crewmembers, acting on behalf of Aksat, had constructed and used the pipe to discharge oil sludge directly into the ocean. The “magic pipe” discharges were not recorded in the Kerim's oil record book.