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

Fukuichi Gyogyo Kabushiki Kaisha tried to cover up act; banned from U.S. waters and ports for five years.
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7 years ago

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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
 

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Winding up

Singapore: Xihe Holdings subsidiaries to be wound up voluntarily, creditors to submit claims

Creditors of Da Zhong Tankers and Xin Ying Shipping are required on or before 17 July 2026 to send in their names and addresses and particulars of their debts or claims to appointed liquidators, says notice.
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Published

2 hours ago

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June 19, 2026

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steve pb from Pixabay

Xihe Holdings Pte Ltd subsidiaries Da Zhong Tankers Pte Ltd and Xin Ying Shipping Pte Ltd will voluntarily wind up following resolutions that were passed by written means, according to a Government Gazette notice published on Thursday (18 June).

The resolutions set out below were duly passed:

  • SPECIAL RESOLUTION – WINDING-UP

That the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018.

  • ORDINARY RESOLUTION – APPOINTMENT OF LIQUIDATORS

That Paresh Tribhovan Jotangia and Ho May Kee of Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960 be and are hereby appointed as joint and several liquidators to conduct the said winding-up and that their remuneration be fixed on the usual scale of their professional charges for the work involved.

  • SPECIAL RESOLUTION – POWERS OF LIQUIDATORS

That the liquidators of the Company be authorised to exercise any of their powers given by section 177, 144 (1) and (2) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 and to distribute to members, in specie, any part of the assets of the Company.

In another notice, the liquidator of the company said creditors are required on or before 17 July 2026 to send in their names and addresses with particulars of their solicitors (if any) to liquidator Paresh Tribhovan Jotangia at Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960. 

The liquidator may require creditors or their solicitors to “come in and prove their said debts or claims at such time and place as shall be specified in such notice or in default thereof, they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such debts are proved.”

Related: Singapore: Additional Xihe Holdings subsidiaries to be placed under judicial management

 

Photo credit: steve pb from Pixabay
Published: 19 June, 2026

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Winding up

Singapore: Liquidator of Parakou Shipping issues notice of dividend

Second and final dividend to admitted creditors of Parakou Shipping is payable by 14 July, according to Government Gazette notice.

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2 hours ago

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June 19, 2026

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Resized benjamin child

A notice of dividend for Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd, which is currently in voluntary liquidation, was published on the Government Gazette on Thursday (18 June). 

The following are the details of the notice:

Name of Company : Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)
Address of Registered Office : c/o KordaMentha, 50 Raffles Place, 25-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623
Amount per centum : 0.55 per centum of admitted claims (in accordance with the Order of Court HC/ORC 4175/2024)
First and Final or otherwise : Second and Final Dividend to admitted creditors (in accordance with the Order of Court HC/ORC 4175/2024)
When payable : By 14 July 2026
Where payable : c/o KordaMentha Pte Ltd, 50 Raffles Place, #25-01 Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623

Related: Singapore: Notice of intended dividend issued for Parakou Shipping Pte Ltd

 

Photo credit: Benjamin Child
Published: 19 June, 2026

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Winding up

Singapore: Notice of intended dividend issued for Selco (Shipyard) Pte Limited

Creditors of the companies will have to submit proof of debt to the liquidators of Selco (Shipyard) by 1 July, according to Government Gazette notice.
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Published

1 day ago

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June 18, 2026

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RESIZED Jo_Johnston from Pixabay

A notice to declare the intended dividend of Selco (Shipyard) Pte Limited to its creditors has been posted on the Government Gazette on Wednesday (17 June).

Name of Company : Selco (Shipyard) Pte Limited (In Compulsory Liquidation)
Co. Reg. No.: 196800580K
Address of Registered Office : 7 Straits View, Marina One East Tower, Level 12, Singapore 018936
Court : High Court of the Republic of Singapore
Number of Matter : Companies Winding Up No.: 125 of 1986
Last Day for Receiving Proofs : 1st day of July 2026
Name of Liquidators : Goh Thien Phong and Chan Kheng Tek, Joint and Several Liquidators
Address of Liquidators : c/o PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services Pte Ltd, 7 Straits View, Marina, One East Tower, Level 12, Singapore 018936

 

Photo credit: Jo_Johnston from Pixabay
Published: 18 June, 2026

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