Major Shipowner Challenges Fines For Pollution In U.S. Courts.

A major chemical carrier and oil tanker owner operating in the United states decided to defend themselves in court from criminal charges for having hidden the occurrence of sea pollution by alleging exclusive fault of the crew, and that their corporate policy expressly forbids violating the environment. This approach in uncommon, as in such cases defense usually involves the negotiating of the multimillion-dollar fines.

The charge is that in 2006 the crew of a 15,000-ton chemical carrier twice discharged oily waste fluids into the sea and, on several other occasions, discharge oily water from the engine-room. In addition, the prosecution accused the Chief Engineer of submitting forged documents to the U.S. Coast Guard in an attempt to obstruct inspection by that authority.