Noly Torato Vidad, Obstruction of Justice, Maryland 2015

Noly Torato Vidad, a former chief engineer, has pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in a shocking marine oil pollution case.

In a federal court in Baltimore, Maryland, Vidad admitted to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and obstructing justice.

The incident occurred between August 2013 and the end of January 2014, when the M/V Selene Leader, operated by Hachiuma Steamship Co LTD, a Japanese company, was docked in Baltimore.

According to the plea agreement, Vidad and his crew transferred oily wastes between oil tanks on board the ship using rubber hoses and then bypassed pollution control equipment, discharging the oily wastes overboard into the ocean.

The law requires that oily wastes be passed through an oil water separator before being discharged into the sea, and the operation must be recorded in the vessel’s oil record book for inspection by the United States Coast Guard.

When the Coast Guard boarded the vessel on January 31, 2014, Vidad attempted to obstruct the investigation by falsifying the oil record book, destroying documents, and instructing subordinate crew members to lie to the Coast Guard.

Vidad’s sentencing is scheduled for February 20, 2015, in the federal court in Baltimore, Maryland.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney P. Michael Cunningham of the District of Maryland and Senior Trial Attorney David P. Kehoe of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section.

Noly Torato Vidad’s actions have sparked outrage in the maritime community, highlighting the need for stricter regulations and enforcement of environmental laws.

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