Summary

On January 27, 2014, in U.S. District Court, West Palm Beach, Florida, Coastal Shipping Holding, Inc., previously known as G&G Marine, Inc. (Coastal), was sentenced to 24 months' probation and a fine of $750,000 for its role in the illegal transportation of hazardous materials, failure of a hazardous material employer to train its employees, and recklessly loading and stowing explosives on a vessel. The vessel was docked at Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and was bound for the Bahamas.

The investigation revealed that Coastal received and accepted a shipment of explosives that were intended to be shipped out of Port Everglades to Nassau, Bahamas. Coastal employees illegally transported the explosives in a commercial truck from their warehouse staging area to the dockside facility, and onto an ocean-going commercial vessel, placing them alongside other hazardous materials.