Stickle, Sabine executives charged with dumping oily grain
The U.S. Attorney for Florida’s Southern District charged Rick D. Stickle, chairman of Sabine Transportation, and other managers of the company for illegally dumping oil-contaminated grain into the ocean and then trying to ellude U.S. Coast Guard officials about the incident.
According to the Justice Department, Sabine Transportation, based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, dumped the oily grain from its U.S.-flag vessel, “SS Juneau,” into the waters of the South China Sea in early February 1999.
The U.S. government’s investigation began when the “Juneau” arrived in Portland, Ore., at the end of her voyage to deliver U.S. humanitarian aid to Bangladesh. Crew members alerted the Coast Guard that a diesel oil leak into one of the ship’s main cargo tanks was discovered while the shipment was being offloaded in Bangladesh in December 1998. It’s estimated that 442 metric tons of wheat became saturated with the oil and could not be offloaded.
After leaving Bangladesh, the company’s senior management and two senior officers of the “Juneau” allegedly discussed ways to dispose of the oily grain legally and determined it was too expensive. Company officials then hired 15 Bulgarian nationals and several technicians aboard the “Juneau” in Singapore and discharged the contaminated grain into the ocean.
Sabine Transportation previously pled guilty to criminal charges in federal court in Cedar Rapids, which included the conduct underlying the indictment announced by the Justice Department Feb. 3 against Stickle and five other individuals in Miami. The Justice Department said Sabine Transportation admitted as part of the criminal conduct to discharging about 440 tons of diesel oil-contaminated grain and agreed to pay a $200,000 criminal fine for the dumping incident and another $1.8 million as a result of the other charges against the company.
In addition to Stickle, other company officers named in the Justice Department’s charges are Michael R. Reeve, president; John Karayannides, vice president of operations; Michael M. Krider, port engineer; George K. McKay, master of the “Juneau;” and Philip J. Hitchens, chief officer of the “Juneau.”
The Justice Department’s indictment alleges the company officers engaged in a “multipurpose conspiracy” to illegally dump oil contaminated grain at sea; obstruct a proceeding initiated by the Coast Guard by presenting false and misleading statements and records; and defraud the United States by hampering and impeding the Coast Guard and Agriculture Department in their efforts to enforce environmental laws and rules of carriage and delivery of donated agricultural commodities.
Counts 1 and 2 of the indictment charge felony violations of U.S. law, each of which carriers possible penalties of up to five years in prison and a criminal fine of up to $250,000 per count or twice the gain or loss caused by Sabine Transportation’s conduct. Count 3, charging Krider with false pretense, carries a possible penalty of up to one year imprisonment and a fine of up to $100,000, or twice the gain or loss caused by the unlawful conduct.
Marcos Daniel Jimenez, U.S. attorney for the Southern Florida District, wants the indictment to send a clear message to others in the maritime industry. “We will not tolerate the use of the oceans as a dumping ground for unscrupulous operators. We will aggressively pursue these operators no matter where they are or how long it takes to hold them accountable for their actions,” he said.
Stickle’s company once operated 12 U.S.-flag tankers under the firm August Trading to transport government-funded bulk food aid shipments. In 1999, the Maritime Administration set out to clarify and strengthen its authority over the U.S. cargo preference business, which quickly put an end to the use of August Trading’s tankers by U.S. food-aid agencies.
In addition to his vessel operations, Stickle also owns a handful of companies specialized in freight transportation, warehousing and real estate.