U.S. indicts oil tanker chief engineering in oil dumping case
The U.S. States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Texas said Thursday it has indicted the chief engineer of the foreign-flag tanker “Pacific Ruby” for deliberately discharging oily waste and concealing the act in the vessel’s log books.
The chief engineer Kun Yun Jho of Korea allegedly tricked the vessel’s oil detection system by using a screwdriver to force open a valve that allowed fresh water to circumvent the system. He provided the U.S. Coast Guard with false records during an inspection in Port Neches in the Gulf of Mexico. The activity occurred between October 2004 and September 2005.
If convicted, Jho faces up to five years in prison on each count of the indictment.