Jordan-based Arab Ship Management Ltd. pleaded guilty in federal court in Wilmington, to one count of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.
Arab Ship Management Ltd. was then sentenced to pay a criminal penalty totaling $500,000 and be placed on probation for two years. During that time, ships operated by the company will be banned from calling on ports of the United States.
“The defendant violated environmental laws that protect our marine environment from harmful pollution,” said U.S. Attorney for Delaware Charles M. Oberly III. “This conviction ensures that the defendant is held accountable with a criminal fine and a contribution to conservation efforts in coastal Delaware, as well as a two-year ban from United States ports. The message to the shipping industry is clear: environmental crimes at sea will not be tolerated.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, Arab Ship Management Ltd. operated the M/V Neameh, a livestock carrier. On March 28, 2013, the U.S. Coast Guard boarded the vessel in the Delaware Bay Big Stone Anchorage to conduct an inspection.
The inspection and investigation revealed heavy oil sludge inside the piping on the discharge side of the pollution prevention equipment, an area where no oil sludge should be if the pollution prevention equipment is operated properly.
Inspectors also discovered that the vessel’s piping arrangement had been modified to allow oil sludge to be pumped directly overboard.
Also during the inspection, Coast Guard officers were presented with two oil record books which are required by law to be accurately maintained onboard the vessel. These two oil record books contained different and contradictory entries for the time period of Nov. 30, 2011, through Jan. 2, 2012, as well as fake oily waste disposal receipts.
