Japanese fishing firm fined US $1.5 million for illegal oil discharge

Japanese fishing firm Fukuichi Gyogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Fukuichi) on Thursday (11 July) was convicted and sentenced in the District of Guam for two violations of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and one count of obstruction of an agency proceeding.

The charges stemmed from discharges of waste oil and oily bilge water from the F/V Fukuichi Maru No. 112 (the vessel) into international waters and the attempt to cover up those discharges when the vessel was inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard in Apra Harbor, Guam.

The charges also included failing to properly document the discharge of fishing gear and plastics from the vessel, and obstructing a Coast Guard Port State Control inspection.

The company was ordered to pay a $1.5 million criminal fine and serve a five-year term of probation, during which vessels owned and/or operated by the company will be banned from entering the Exclusive Economic Zone, Territorial Sea, or a port or terminal belonging to the United States without prior approval.

Fukuichi was the owner and operator of the vessel, which conducted fishing operations throughout the Pacific Ocean. The vessel entered Apra Harbor, Guam, on April 1, 2019, for repairs to its cargo refrigeration system.

According to court documents, members of the U.S. Coast Guard boarded the vessel and discovered fifteen pollution and safety deficiencies and detained the vessel. The inspectors discovered numerous leaks of water and oil into the bilges and the Chief Engineer confessed that the practice on the vessel was to discharge waste oil and oily bilge water directly into the ocean using an emergency bilge pump system and buckets.

The inspectors discovered these systems coated with heavy oil. The inspectors examined the vessel’s Oil Record Book and discovered two hundred and thirty-three incorrect or false entries.

Later during the inspection, the inspector discovered that the Chief Engineer obstructed their proceeding by erasing forty-two of the fraudulent or incorrect entries and replacing them with new information.

The inspectors also examined the vessel’s Garbage Record Book (GRB) and discovered that it contained a series of “ditto” marks instead of the signature of the officer in charge of managing the garbage. The inspectors determined based on crew interviews that animal carcasses and fishing gear, which included plastic, had been discharged from the vessel and not record in the GRB. 

Moving forward, Fukuichi will also be required to implement a comprehensive Environmental Compliance Plan (ECP) that includes vessel audits. The ECP and associated audits must be sent to the nearest U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port prior to any of the company’s vessels entering U.S. waters or a U.S. port. The COTP will have the discretion whether to allow such entry based upon the company’s compliance with international and domestic laws governing pollution and safety.

Published: 15 July, 2019