Engineers admit illegally discharging oily water from d’Amico tanker
Two Italian engineers on Thursday admitted to a US federal court that they dumped oily waste from a tanker into international waters, according to the Associated Press.
Chief engineer Girolamo Curatolo pleaded guilty before a court in New Jersey to conspiring to break the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.
He did so on multiple occasions by overseeing the pumping of oily waste from the engine room into a sewage holding tank of the Cielo di Milano, a vessel owned by Italian firm d’Amico. From the sewage tank the waste was then dumped into the waters.
, a vessel owned by Italian firm d’Amico. From the sewage tank the waste was then dumped into the waters.First assistant engineer Danilo Maimone pleaded guilty to conspiring to obstruct justice. Maimone admitted falsifying an oil record log and making false statements to US Coast Guard (USCG) inspectors.
During the period of the offences – between September 2014 and January 2015 – the ship visited ports in Maryland and Florida as well as Bayonne in New Jersey.
The two men will be sentenced on November 21 when they each face a potential five-year prison sentence and fines of up to $250,000.
Wow! Developed country seafarers pumping Oil! Good to sea how much training and ISM has achieved! So much for commitment to environment. I believe most surely they had the tacit go ahead from the owners who wanted to save on the unwanted superfluous expense of slop barges or terminal facilities.