Shipping Company Will Pay $4.2 Million Fine for Dumping Oil at Sea

Office of Inspector General

Title:	Shipping Company Will Pay $4.2 Million Fine for Dumping Oil at Sea
Date:	January 21, 2004
Type:	Investigation
Summary:	The OMI Corporation of Stamford, CT, a shipping company that transports petroleum products, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Newark, NJ, to preparing false documents to cover up the illegal dumping of thousands of gallons of waste oil and sludge at sea. The company agreed to pay a $4.2 million fine and serve three years probation. OMI admitted that from about May to September 2001, the chief engineer of the motor tanker Guadalupe authorized the discharging of wastes into the high seas and made fraudulent entries in the Oil Record Book, which shows how waste oil is properly treated. On September 10, 2001, the U.S. Coast Guard and EPA inspected the ship and were given the Oil Record Book containing the falsified entries. The ship’s captain and chief engineer pleaded guilty in May 2002 in connection with the case. The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard, EPA, and DOT OIG.