Zeus Lines Management SA (Zeus), a ship operating company, pleaded guilty Monday in Providence, Rhode Island, to keeping false and incomplete records related to the bilge oil spill and failing to report a dangerous condition on board the oil tanker Galissas.. The company’s chief engineer, Roberto Cayabyab Penaflor, and Captain Jose Ervin Mahigne Porquez also pleaded guilty today for their roles in these crimes. The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on August 8.
According to court documents, Zeus and Penaflor admitted that the oily bilge water was illegally dumped from Galissas directly into the ocean without being properly processed through required pollution prevention equipment. Oily bilge water normally contains oil contamination from the operation and cleaning of the ship’s machinery. They also admitted that these illegal discharges were not recorded in the vessel’s oil log book as required by law.
Specifically, on three separate occasions between November 2021 and February 2022, Penaflor directed crew members working for him in the engine room to discharge a total of approximately 9,544 gallons of oily bilge water from the tank of the ship’s bilge directly into the ocean through the ship’s emergency. fire pump, bypassing the ship’s required pollution prevention equipment. Additionally, in preparation for the US Coast Guard inspection in Galicia, Penaflor instructed crew members on several occasions not to tell the Coast Guard about circumventing pollution prevention equipment that caused illegal dumping.
“This prosecution demonstrates our commitment to ensuring the health and safety of the marine environment, and to safeguarding coastal communities from dangerous conditions,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. . “The Department of Justice will continue to work with our partner agencies to ensure that those who pollute and endanger our coastal communities are held fully accountable.”
“A critical mission of this office is to protect our environment from pollution and pollutants, whether they affect our neighborhoods or precious natural resources like Narragansett Bay, one of Rhode Island’s crown jewels,” he said. said US District Attorney Zachary A. Cunha. from Rhode Island. “In this case, a foreign company decided it could ignore its obligation under American law, putting our waters and coastal communities at risk. Today’s guilty pleas are a reminder that this office will enforce our environmental laws to hold violators (individuals and businesses) accountable and protect our vital natural resources and our citizens.”
“This case demonstrates the U.S. government’s determination to ensure the safety of life at sea and protect our ports from rogue and negligent actors,” said Rear Admiral John Mauger, commanding officer of the Coast Guard’s First District. “Every day, thousands of ships pass safely through America’s ports and handle nearly 95 percent of America’s commerce that drives our economy and ensures our national security. By sailing into a major U.S. port with known defective inert gas generator, the operator and senior officers of the Galicia endangered not only their shipmates, but also the people of Rhode Island. The Coast Guard will continue to train and deploy our ship examiners to protect our nation’s seafarers and ports deter and detect unsafe and illegal activities We appreciate the Justice Department’s strong determination to hold these rogue actors accountable.
In addition to the illegal discharges of oily bilge water, on February 2, 2022, while the Galissas was conducting cargo operations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, crew members noticed that the ship’s inert gas system it didn’t work This system is necessary to ensure that oxygen levels within the ship’s cargo tanks are maintained at safe levels of 8% or less and do not result in hazardous conditions that could lead to an explosion or fire. Rather than remain in Rotterdam until the inert gas system could be repaired, Zeus’ shore management and Captain Porquez determined that the vessel should sail to the United States, where a spare part would be delivered to the ‘arrival of the ship because the crew would repair it. the system
On February 11, 2022, while the Galissas was transiting the Atlantic Ocean from the Netherlands to the United States, Porquez filed a required notice of arrival with the US Coast Guard informing the Coast Guard, among other things , of the vessel’s last port of call, expected arrival in the United States, and type of cargo on board the vessel. In this notice of arrival, Porquez failed to report that a dangerous condition existed on board the vessel (the inoperable inert gas system).
On February 19, 2022, the Galissas arrived off the coast of Rhode Island, and although the ship’s crew received and installed the replacement part, the inert gas system remained inoperable. The next day, the US Coast Guard measured oxygen levels inside the ship’s cargo tanks and found the levels ranged from 15 to 17 percent, well above the 8 percent maximum allowed. The Coast Guard then ordered the ship moved further inshore so as not to endanger the port of Newport, Rhode Island.
Porquez created a log book that indicated the cargo tanks were at safe levels of oxygen when the ship left the Netherlands and remained at safe levels for most of the ship’s transit across the Atlantic Ocean. The crew had not actually taken any readings of the oxygen levels in the cargo tanks during the ship’s voyage. Porquez had instructed the ship’s chief officer to create this fraudulent log book which was later presented to the US Coast Guard during its inspection.
Zeus and Penaflor pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Ship Pollution Prevention Act for failing to accurately maintain the Galissas’ oil log book. Zeus and Porquez also pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Port and Waterway Security Act for failing to report the vessel’s dangerous condition to the US Coast Guard. Under the terms of the settlement, Zeus will pay a total monetary penalty of $2.25 million, consisting of a fine of $1,687,500 and a community service payment of $562,500. The community service payment will go to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to fund projects to benefit marine and coastal natural resources located in the state of Rhode Island. In addition, Zeus will serve a four-year probation period, during which any ship operated by the company that visits U.S. ports must implement a robust environmental compliance plan.
The US Coast Guard Sector Southeast New England and the US Coast Guard Investigative Service are investigating the case.
Senior Attorney Stephen Da Ponte of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Division of Environment and Natural Resources and Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. McAdams of the District of Rhode Island are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Lt. Cmdr Paul J. Milliken of the US Coast Guard District One. Legal Office
