Vessel engineer pleads guilty to violating anti-pollution act

Vessel engineer pleads guilty to violating anti-pollution act    Aman Mahana, second engineer on the containership 'MSC Elena', has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to one count of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.
   A U.S. prosecutor told Chief U.S. District Judge William G. Young at a plea hearing that if the case had proceeded to trial, evidence would have shown that Mahana had maintained an oil record book 'that falsely reported or omitted overboard discharges of oily sludge and oil-contaminated bilge waste,' according to a Justice Department statement.
   The doctored record book 'created the false and misleading impression that the vessel was being operated properly and was fully maintaining an accurate record,' the Justice Department said. Mahana's violation occurred on May 16, in the Port of Boston.
   International protocol has set standards for the maximum concentration of oil to be discharged overboard, and requires that vessels maintain an oil-sensing device to monitor the discharge of oil and redirect effluent to a storage tank on board the vessel when oil content exceeds the allowable limit.
   In addition, 'U.S. law requires all large vessels in its waters to maintain an oil record book where all transfers of oil, the disposal of sludge and waste oil, and overboard discharges of bilge water containing oil must be fully and accurately recorded,' the Justice Department said.
   Young set Feb. 2 as the date for Mahana's sentencing. The engineer, a citizen of India, faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.