German shipping firms fined US$1.5 million for oil slick, witness tampering
GERMAN shipping companies Briese Schiffahrts GmbH & Co KG and Briese Schiffahrts GmbH & Co, who owned and operated the 6,264-dwt Antigua-flagged BBC Magellan, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to failure to maintain an accurate oil record book.
They also pleaded guilty to tampering with witnesses by persuading them to provide false statements to the US Coast Guard concerning a bypass hose on the vessel that was being used to discharge oil into the sea.
The two companies were sentenced to pay a total of US$1.25 million in fines and a $250,000 community service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to fund projects that enhance coastal habitats of the Gulf of Mexico and bolster priority fish and wildlife populations.
In addition, the ship BBC Magellan is banned from doing business in the United States for the next five years, reported the Maritime Executive of Fort Lauderdale.
GERMAN shipping companies Briese Schiffahrts GmbH & Co KG and Briese Schiffahrts GmbH & Co, who owned and operated the 6,264-dwt Antigua-flagged BBC Magellan, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to failure to maintain an accurate oil record book.
They also pleaded guilty to tampering with witnesses by persuading them to provide false statements to the US Coast Guard concerning a bypass hose on the vessel that was being used to discharge oil into the sea.
The two companies were sentenced to pay a total of US$1.25 million in fines and a $250,000 community service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to fund projects that enhance coastal habitats of the Gulf of Mexico and bolster priority fish and wildlife populations.
In addition, the ship BBC Magellan is banned from doing business in the United States for the next five years, reported the Maritime Executive of Fort Lauderdale.