Americas News
U.S. Court Sends Ship Engineers to Prison in Oily Waste Dumping Case
The U.S. Department of Justice Wednesday announced that ship engineers from the Philippines, Rustico Ignacio and Cassius Samson have been sentenced by a judge in the Eastern District of North Carolina to a term of nine months followed by a year of supervised release, and a term of 12 months in prison followed by a year of supervised release, respectively.
As Ship & Bunker reported in September, a federal jury in Greenville, North Carolina convicted Oceanic Illsabe Limited (Oceanic Illsabe), Oceanfleet Shipping Limited (Oceanfleet Shipping), and their employees, Ignacio and Samson, with violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), obstruction of justice, false statements, witness tampering, and conspiracy in relation oily waste dumping from M/V Ocean Hope into the Pacific Ocean last year.
"These crewmembers egregiously violated U.S. and international pollution laws, obstructed justice and spoiled the marine waters upon which our planet and its marine life depend," said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden of the Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division.
"This case shows that polluting the ocean with oily waste and sludge will land you in jail, and that we will aggressively prosecute these serious crimes."
As Ship & Bunker previously reported, Ignacio and Samson could have been given a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for obstruction of justice in the case, while the companies could be fined up to $500,000 per count, in addition to other possible penalties.
Sentencing of the corporate defendants is noted to be scheduled for early January 2017.
