Carbofin S.PA. pleaded guilty to three counts of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships related to the deliberate concealment of vessel pollution.
The Italian shipping company Carbofin S.PA. pleaded guilty to three counts of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships related to the deliberate concealment of vessel pollution from its vessel Marigola, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday.
The department said the vessel called on the Port of Tampa on three occasions in 2013 and 2014 with a falsified oil record book.
Under the terms of its plea agreement, Carbofin agreed to pay a $2.75 million criminal penalty, $600,000 of which will be designated as community service and used to support the preservation of natural resources located in and adjacent to the Florida National Keys Marine Sanctuary.
Alessandro Messore, who served as the second engineer aboard the Marigola, also pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships for his role in the offense. A second officer, Carmelo Giano, who served as the ship’s chief engineer and was the person responsible for maintaining the ship’s oil record book, is expected to enter a plea to one count of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships on Friday, the Justice Department said.
The Coast Guard’s investigation began on April 16, when the vessel called on the Port of Tampa to unload its cargo. During that examination, two crewmembers approached the Coast Guard inspectors and provided them with a cell phone video that showed a black hose connected between two points in the engine room, called a “magic hose,” used to discharge the oily bilge overboard.
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