Greek vessel operator pays $1 million fine for oil dumping
The U.S. Justice Department this weekend ordered Karlog Shipping Co., a Piraeus, Greece-based vessel operator, to pay a $1 million fine for illegally discharging waste oil through a hidden bypass pipe on its vessel, “Friendship,” in 2004.
Karlog was charged with making false statements and obstructing justice to federal government investigators.
As part of its settlement, Karlog was also ordered to develop a comprehensive court-monitored environmental management systems and serve three years of probation. The Justice Department said the environmental management system will cover Karlog’s entire fleet.
The U.S. government started its investigation into Karlog’s illegal waste oil discharges in November 2004 after the Coast Guard discovered evidence of the bypassing during a routine inspection of the “Friendship” in Gravesend Bay in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Panagiotis Kokkinos, the ship’s chief engineer, and Ahtanasios Chalkias, the ship’s fitter, have both pleaded guilty in connection with their role in ordering crew members to make false statements to the Coast Guard. Both Kokkinos and Chalkias were sentenced to 30 days in prison and three years of probation Oct. 6.