Business

Liquimar Tankers and Evridiki issued USD 3 million fine over oil pollution offences

Government provided new evidence Liquimar was making and using fake and forged certificates regarding safety and environmental requirements.

Published

4 years ago

May 9, 2022

Admin

The United States Department of Justice on Thursday (5 May) issued a total USD 3 million criminal fine and five-year period of probation to Greek vessel operator Liquimar Tankers Management Services Inc. and tanker owner Evridiki Navigation Inc.

Specifically, Evridiki was fined USD 2 million and Liquimar was fined USD 1 million.

The corporations were convicted at trial on all charges, including violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, falsifying ships’ documents, obstructing a U.S. Coast Guard inspection and making false statements to U.S. Coast Guard inspectors.

In March 2019, the Evridiki was inspected by the Coast Guard in Big Stone Anchorage, within Delaware Bay after a delivery of crude oil.

The jury found that during the inspection, Liquimar, Evridiki and the ship’s Chief Engineer, Nikolaos Vastardis, tried to deceive Coast Guard inspectors regarding the use of the ship’s oily water separator (OWS) and oil content metre (OCM), a required pollution prevention device.

Chief Engineer Vastardis used a hidden valve to trap fresh water inside the sample line so that the OCM sensor registered zero parts per million concentration of oil instead of what was really being discharged overboard.

The Coast Guard and government experts were able to prove that the OCM was being tricked with fresh water by analysing historic data recovered from the machine’s memory chip.

When the Coast Guard opened the OWS, they found it was inoperable and fouled with copious amounts of oil and soot. Vastardis’ conviction was upheld in December 2021 by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which rejected a challenge to U.S. jurisdiction over foreign vessels.

“Ocean outlaws and polluters such as these will continue to be vigorously prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

At sentencing, the government provided new evidence, based on a forensic examination of the ship’s computers, that Liquimar was also making and using fake and forged certificates regarding safety and environmental requirements.

Fake certificates and fake seals, to imprint on the certificates, were e-mailed to the ship by senior shore side employees including the Designated Person Ashore – a required manager under international law who is charged with ensuring the vessel and its crew abide by the law.

At least three senior employees of Liquimar were involved with creating and sending the fake certificates. The fake certificates related to the calibration of the OCM and whether pressure relief valves for the cargo were actually tested properly.

A fake OCM certificate was used during the Coast Guard inspection and Vastardis was specifically asked about the validity of the certificate.

The Coast Guard further discovered that the data stored on the OCM indicated the OCM was not energised on the date that the fake certificate claimed the OCM was calibrated.

In addition, the certificate for the pressure relief valves was noted to be false because it had claimed that the system was tested on a date that the cargo tanks were full, which is impossible.

Referring to the forged documents as the “elephant in the room” which the defendants asked the judge to ignore, federal prosecutors told the court that the companies “failure to address, let along mention this willful misconduct, demonstrates that these defendants are willfully blind if not completely unrepentant.”

Photo credit: Pepi Stojanovski from Unsplash
Published: 9 May, 2022

Winding up

Singapore: Notice of intended dividend issued for Xihe Holdings’ subsidiaries

Creditors will need to produce proofs of debt to liquidators of Da Xin Tankers and Nan Chiau Maritime by 5 August, according to Government Gazette notice.

Published

17 hours ago

July 23, 2026

Admin

Two notices to declare the intended dividend of Xihe Holdings’ subsidiaries to their creditors have been posted on the Government Gazette on Wednesday (22 July).

The subsidiaries are Da Xin Tankers Pte Ltd and Nan Chiau Maritime Pte Ltd.

The following are the details of the notices of intended dividend:

Name of Company : Da Xin Tankers (Pte) Ltd (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)
Unique Entity No. / Registration No. : 198400895W
Address of Registered Office : c/o Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960
Last Day for Receiving Proofs : 5 August 2026 at 5:00 pm by email to [email protected]
Name of Liquidators : Paresh Tribhovan Jotangia and Ho May Kee
Address : c/o Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960

Name of Company : Nan Chiau Maritime (Pte.) Ltd. (In Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation)
Unique Entity No. / Registration No.: 200814296Z
Address of Registered Office : c/o Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960
Last Day for Receiving Proofs : 5 August 2026 at 5:00 pm by email to [email protected]
Name of Liquidators : Paresh Tribhovan Jotangia and Ho May Kee
Address : c/o Grant Thornton Singapore Private Limited, 8 Marina View, #40-04/05 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960

Photo credit: steve pb from Pixabay
Published: 23 July, 2026

Biofuel

South Korea: S-Oil launches B30-VLSFO bio bunker fuel supply

Company says it has established an integrated operating system in the Ulsan region covering the entire value chain, from feedstock procurement and blending to supply.

Published

18 hours ago

July 23, 2026

Admin

South Korea: S-Oil launches B30-VLSFO bio bunker fuel supply

South Korean petroleum and refining company S-Oil on Wednesday (22 July) said it has started supplying B30 very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), as the company seeks to support shipping’s decarbonisation efforts and growing demand for lower-carbon bunker fuels.

The company said its B30 VLSFO contains 30% sustainable biofuel blended with conventional VLSFO and can be used without requiring modifications to existing vessels, enabling shipowners to comply more readily with emissions regulations from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the European Union (EU).

S-Oil said it has established an integrated operating system in the Ulsan region covering the entire value chain, from feedstock procurement and blending to supply. The system combines VLSFO produced at its Onsan refinery with biofuel production facilities and storage infrastructure in the Ulsan region, allowing the entire process to be carried out within a single logistics hub.

According to the company, the integrated supply chain reduces transportation requirements during production while improving supply efficiency and reliability.

S-Oil also highlighted Ulsan Port as a strategic location for marine biofuel supply, noting the port has strong demand for bio-bunker fuels, particularly from car carriers, enabling prompt and stable deliveries to key customers.

An S-Oil official stated: “In the bio-marine fuel market, not only product quality but also securing a stable supply of raw materials and an efficient supply system are important competitive advantages.

“Based on our existing bunkering business capabilities and the excellent supply infrastructure in the Onsan area, we plan to supply stable and competitive low-carbon fuel.”

Photo credit: S-Oil
Published: 23 July, 2026

Decarbonisation

Yang Ming and PSA to develop integrated sea-land decarbonisation solutions

Both will explore solutions spanning emissions measurement and verification, a digital Book-and-Claim framework, and a joint maritime-land inset token package.

Published

18 hours ago

July 23, 2026

Admin

Yang Ming and PSA to develop integrated sea-land decarbonisation solutions

PSA International (PSA) on Monday (20 July) said it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation (Yang Ming) to jointly accelerate the adoption of low-carbon solutions across the maritime value chain.

Beyond emissions measurement and verification, the collaboration will focus on a digital Book-and-Claim framework and a joint maritime-land based inset token package.

“This synergy provides cargo stakeholders with a transparent and accountable sea-land pathway to achieve their decarbonisation targets,” PSA said on its website.

Yang Ming launched the green transport service, EcoSea+. This initiative integrates Yang Ming’s low-carbon navigation capabilities to empower customers with a flexible and transparent strategy to effectively reduce their Scope 3 transportation emissions. By joining forces with PSA, Yang Ming is able to expand the impact of these sustainability actions beyond the ocean.

Building on its position as a global port operator, PSA advances its Node to Network strategy through integrated port and supply chain capabilities that enable a green network of terminal and landside operations to reduce end-to-end supply chain emissions.

The agreement was officially signed by Mr Ivan Chiang, Chief Logistics Officer & Senior Vice President of Yang Ming, and Mr Eddy Ng, Group Head of Operations, Technology and Sustainability of PSA International.

Mr Ong Kim Pong, PSA International Group CEO, said, “As responsible stewards of tomorrow, PSA is committed to delivering sustainable impact across the global port and supply chain ecosystem.

“Tackling the challenges arising from climate change will require the collective efforts of all players in the maritime supply chain sector. We are excited to partner Yang Ming on the decarbonisation of global supply chains and support the transition towards a more sustainable global economy.”

Photo credit: PSA International
Published: 23 July, 2026