New Orleans,
A Turkish captain and two shipping companies were sentenced yesterday in a New Orleans federal court after pleading guilty to MARPOL violations and an attempted cover-up. Captain Abdurrahman Korkmaz, master of the Panama-flagged product tanker P/S Dream, was sentenced to eight months in U.S. prison for illegally discharging oil-contaminated waste into the ocean and falsifying records to conceal the violation from the U.S. Coast Guard.
The court also ordered the vessel’s operators, Prive Overseas Marine and Prive Shipping Denizcilik Ticaret, to pay a $2 million fine and placed them on four years probation. The illegal discharge came to light after whistleblower crew members provided photos and recordings to the Coast Guard documenting the three-day dumping incident. The companies were also found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.
As part of the sentencing, $500,000 of the penalty will fund environmental projects managed by the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation. The companies will also implement a strict environmental compliance plan over the next four years
By Priyadharshini
