Chief engineer sentenced in Maryland for obstructing investigation

Grifakis was then the chief engineer of the Capitola.

In a connected circumstance, Cardiff Marine Inc., the Liberian-registered shipping organization and operator of the Capitola beforehand pleaded guilty to obstructing a Coast Guard examination and violating the Act to Avoid Pollution from Ships. The organization was sentenced in February 2011 to shell out a $ two.four million good, and to serve three a long time probation, subject matter to an environmental compliance program that consists of audits by an independent third get together auditor.

&quotThis 12 months-lengthy investigation and adjudication is effectively value the effort of all involved to prove this situation of willful and deceitful pollution,&quot said Capt. Mark O’Malley, Coast Guard Sector Baltimore commander. &quotThis case involving a $ 2.4 million good and 6 months imprisonment of the chief engineer need to serve as a deterrent to those who would violate marine pollution laws.&quot

The sentence was declared by U.S. Legal professional for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney Standard, Surroundings &amp Natural Resources Division, U.S. Division of Justice Rear Adm. Dean Lee, commander of the Coast Guard’s 5th District Special Agent in Charge Otis E. Harris, Jr. of the Coast Guard Investigative Assistance-Chesapeake Region and Acting Unique Agent in Cost Christian Spangenberg of Environmental Defense Company&amprsquos Criminal Investigation Division.

In accordance to Grifakis&amprsquo guilty plea and other court paperwork, the investigation into the Capitola was released Could 3, 2010, at the Port of Baltimore, soon after a crew member informed a clergy member, who was aboard the Capitola on a pastoral pay a visit to, that there had been &ampldquomonkey company in the motor place,&amprdquo which involved a &ampldquomagic pipe.&amprdquo The &ampldquomagic pipe&amprdquo proved to be a bypass hose that permitted the dumping of waste oil overboard, circumventing pollution prevention devices essential by law. The crew member asked the minister to alert the Coast Guard, which triggered an inspection of the Capitola.

At his plea listening to, Grifakis admitted that from about March 2009 by means of May 3, 2010, he repeatedly ordered his subordinates to illegally pump oil-contaminated waste directly into the ocean, most typically via the &ampldquomagic pipe.&amprdquo Nevertheless, during the investigation, Grifakis falsely denied possessing ordered any person to pump oily waste overboard and falsified paperwork to hide these discharges from inspectors in ports visited by the Capitola.

Every single ship that enters the U.S. is required to have an accurate oil report book that data the ship&amprsquos operation relevant to oil, including the dealing with and disposal of oil contaminated waste. Grifakis introduced an oil report guide to the Coast Guard that was intentionally falsified to conceal the illegal overboard discharges of oil contaminated waste. An oil record guide is necessary underneath U.S. law and the International Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Ships, also identified as the MARPOL Protocol, which regulates the discharge of pollutants from vessels at sea. The objective of MARPOL is to preserve the marine atmosphere via the full elimination of intentional pollution by oil and other unsafe substances and the minimization of accidental discharge of these kinds of substances. The United States is a single of the one hundred and sixty-9 nations that are events to MARPOL.

Grifakis also obstructed the investigation by concealing certain ship&amprsquos information and then denying that these kinds of records existed. Exclusively, he concealed the Capitola&amprsquos daily sounding record, which is a daily measurement of the contents of the ship&amprsquos waste tanks. This file would have been beneficial for the duration of the Coast Guard&amprsquos inspection of the Capitola in that it could have demonstrated when the amounts of the waste tanks changed, which could be in comparison to entries in the oil file e-book. Sudden, unexplained drops in the measurements could have indicated distinct dates when wastes have been discharged overboard. The every day sounding document was not created to the Coast Guard. Grifakis also directed other members of the motor area crew to lie to investigators and claim that the Capitola did not have a everyday file of soundings.

&quotThe inspection and investigation is a duty that we share with other federal, state and regional companies and calls for a commitment to environmental stewardship,&quot mentioned O’Malley. &quotThe oceans are treasured public assets. The Coast Guard will continue to aggressively pursue and penalize polluters to reinforce that oceans are not dumping grounds or spillways for any entity.&quot

This prosecution was created achievable by means of the blended efforts of the Coast Guard Sector-Baltimore, the Coast Guard Investigative Support-Baltimore, Coast Guard fifth District Legal Company, Coast Guard Office of Maritime and International Law, Coast Guard Company of Investigations and Analysis, and EPA Criminal Investigation Division with support from U.S. Customs and Border Safety. The instances were prosecuted by Justin S. Herring, Assistant U.S. Lawyer in Maryland and Thomas T. Ballantine, Environmental Crimes Section of the Setting and All-natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.