Polembros Shipping LTD. Pleads Guilty to Crimes Related to Pollution from Cargo Ship Traveling to New Orleans

Polembros Shipping LTD., a ship management company headquartered in Greece, pleaded guilty in federal court in New Orleans for violating anti-pollution laws, ship safety laws, and making false statements during a U.S. Coast Guard investigation of the M/V Theotokos, the Justice Department announced.

According to the plea agreement, Polembros will pay a $2.7 million criminal fine and a separate $100,000 community service payment to the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, a subunit of Smithsonian Institute. The money will be used to research and mitigate the effects of marine invasive species suspected to be transported in ballast waters of ocean-going vessels.

Invasive species can threaten native species and damage the ecosystems of the United States.

As part of the plea agreement, Polembros will also serve three years probation. As a condition of the probation, all ships owned or managed by Polembros (currently 20 vessels) will be barred from entering U.S. ports and territorial waters for three years.

“Today’s guilty plea carries with it a requirement, pending court review, that will prevent the company from participating in economic activity that takes place in territorial ports and waterways of the United States,” said John C. Cruden, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

The defendant, Polembros Shipping LTD., violated two counts of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, one count in connection with failing to maintain an accurate oil record book for the cargo ship M/V Theotokos and the other concerning the carrying of fuel oil in a tank forward of the collision barrier; violated the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act, by failing to maintain accurate ballast water records; violated the Ports and Waterways Safety Act, by failing to report hazardous condition of the crack on the rudder stem of the ship; and making false statements by concealing the fact that fuel oil was leaking into the forepeak ballast tank.

According to court documents, the ship’s master reported the rudder stem crack by phoning Polembros’ technical department (part of the land-based management) shortly after the crack was seen following a cargo unloading operation in China. Polembros and its employees knew about that crack prior to the vessel arriving in New Orleans, but the defendant and its employees did not notify or disclose the aft crack to the U.S. Coast Guard until the Theotokos crew was confronted by Coast Guard inspectors on October 1, 2008. The company and its employees knew that before coming to the United States that it was under a legal obligation to notify the Coast Guard of any hazardous condition.

A crack on the rudder stem, especially one that allows for the ingress and egress of water, is of particular concern. Prior to the detention of the vessel by the Coast Guard, no repairs were undertaken for the rudder stem crack at sea, or otherwise, prior to arriving in New Orleans.

With regard to the oil record book violation, bilge waste accumulates in deep spaces and is also held in bilge tanks. Under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, bilge wastes may be discharged overboard into the ocean only if they contain less than 15 parts per million of oil. The M/V Theotokos crew was unaware of the regulation and did not follow it.

The defendant will pay a fine of $2.7 million and serve three years probation. The company will also be barred from entering U.S. ports and territorial waters for three years.