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Far-away oil discharge leads to $200,000 windfall for Alabama oysters

The environment in coastal Alabama will get a $200,000 jolt from an international shipping company making amends for its pollution -- even though it occurred far from the state’s shores. In this case, the Singapore shipping company Target Ship Management agreed to pay the penalty as punishment for inaccurate logbooks presented by one of its vessels last year to U.S. Coast Guard officials at the Port of Mobile. Senior engineers of the Gaurav Prem ordered oily waste to be discharged in the ocean without first being processed by pollution control equipment during the ship’s journey from South Korea and failed to record it in the record book. Read more at http://blog.al.com/live/2012/06/far-away_oil_discharge_leads_t.html

Shipping company to pay $1 million fine for oily discharge

Oily waste dumped by the cargo ship Gaurav Prem in the Pacific Ocean last year did not come near Alabama, yet the state's waterways will benefit from a deal struck today with the vessel's operator. Target Ship Management, a Singapore-based firm that operates the vessel, pleaded guilty to a pair of criminal violations related to the dumping and agreed to pay a $1 million fine. In addition, the company will make a $200,000 “community service contribution” to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, with the money earmarked specifically for water restoration projects in southwest Alabama. The ship’s chief engineer and 2nd engineer also pleaded guilty to criminal violations and face possible prison time. More to read at http://blog.al.com/live/2012/05/shipping_company_agrees_to_pay.html

Captain found guilty for obstructing a Coast Guard inspection

The former captain of the "Gaurav Prem" which discharged hundreds of plastic pipes into the ocean, was convicted by a jury in Mobile, Alabama on May 17 for obstructing a U.S. Coast Guard inspection of the vessel in the port of Mobile on Sept. 21, 2011. He was found guilty of two counts of obstruction of justice. At trial, witnesses testified that Captain Taohim ordered the ship’s chief officer to throw hundreds of plastic pipes into the ocean and not record the discharge in the ship’s garbage record book as required. Taohim then knowingly made the garbage record book available during a Coast Guard inspection of the vessel in the Port of Mobile on Sept. 21, 2011. The plastic pipes had previously contained insecticide and were used to fumigate a grain shipment. Taohim was found guilty in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Alabama for obstructing the Coast Guard’s inspection of the ship. The jury also found the defendant guilty of one count of obstruction of justice related to covering up the pollution by creating a false and fictitious garbage log. The sentencing is set for Aug. 15, 2012. The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division. Additional assistance was provided by the Coast Guard Sector Mobile, and U.S. Coast Guard Eighth District Legal Office.