San Francisco: The former chief mate of a vessel that illegally discharged waste into the sea off Florida last year was sentenced to three months in jail on Wednesday. He had also attempted to cover up the act by manipulating records.
Valerii Georgiev, was found in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS). He had pleaded guilty on June 15 to failing to maintain an accurate oil record book in violation of APPS. The sentence was passed by a US District Court judge in New Jersey.
The incident happened in international waters off the Florida coast in April 2014 when crew of the M/V Murcia Carrier (9,000 dwt, built 1996), owned by British cargo firm Norbulk Shipping UK, dumped overboard several barrels containing hydraulic oil.
The dumping occurred while the vessel was in transit from Costa Rica to New Jersey. During the course of a boarding by US Coast Guard, Georgiev denied it happened and instructed crew members on board the vessel to also deny it.
Glasgow-based Norbulk received a $750,000 fine and a three-year suspended sentence on June 17 for the same incident.
