This article originally appeared in the October 2001 edition of the AC Currents.
Recent high profile criminal prosecutions such as the EXXON VALDEZ, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, the COMMAND, and the NEPTUNE DORADO have established the critical need, first, for contingency planning, and, second, the ability to have specialist lawyers immediately available to respond at the first hint of a criminal investigation.
The master of the EXXON VALDEZ was convicted of negligently operating a vessel, after obtaining acquittal on more serious charges; RCCL was indicted for falsifying records, knowingly discharging oil, conspiracy, and witness tampering, and eventually pleaded guilty to a number of these charges. In the Holland America matter, the company and the director of technical operations pleaded guilty to charges of negligently discharging oily bilge water. The COMMAND incident off the coast of California resulted in guilty pleas to charges of knowingly discharging oil. The NEPTUNE
