A Turkish captain of an oil tanker pleaded guilty on Tuesday (11 June) to a two-count information charging him with violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and for obstructing proceedings. 

Captain Abdurrahman Korkmaz, 37, was the captain of the PS Dream, a Panama-flagged motor tanker. The two related companies that operated the PS Dream pleaded guilty last month to environmental crimes.

The PS Dream arrived in New Orleans on 26 January, 2023. The U.S. Coast Guard conducted an inspection which included a review of the vessel’s oil record books. In his plea, Korkmaz acknowledged presenting the books to the Coast Guard knowing that they omitted information about discharging oily waste to the ocean before arriving in the United States. 

The falsified logs were intended to conceal the fact that beginning on 11 January, the crew had dumped oil-contaminated waste overboard on the voyage to New Orleans and was not complying with international treaties regulating oil pollution from ships.

According to documents and statements filed in court, Korkmaz ordered his crew to pump overboard from the residual oil tank which contained oily waste. A portable pump placed inside the tank and connected to a long flexible hose was used to discharge directly into the ocean without any required pollution prevention equipment or monitoring. The waste oil, including sludge, originated in the engine room and had been improperly transferred into the residual oil tank on the deck of the ship by a prior crew.

Senior managers at Prive Shipping LLC and Prive Shipping Denizcilik Ticaret – two related companies that operated the ship – were aware that the oil-contaminated waste remained in the tank and were informed by Korkmaz that it had been dumped overboard. Both companies pleaded guilty and are scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 26.

Korkmaz is scheduled to be sentenced on 10 September. He faces a maximum penalty of six years in prison, with a fine of up to USD 250,000, or twice the gain or loss from the offence, for the APPS charge. 

He also faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, with a fine of up to UDD 250,000, or twice the gain or loss from the offence, for the obstruction charge. 

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Manifold Times previously reported that two related companies that operated PS Dream – Prive Overseas Marine LLC and Prive Shipping Denizcilik Ticaret – pleaded guilty to conspiracy, knowingly violating the APPS and obstruction of justice related to the falsification of the tanker’s Oil Record Book, which is a required log.

Related: Shipping firms face USD 2 mil fine after pleading guilty for dumping oil at sea

Photo credit: büra keskendir / MarineTraffic
Published: 18 June 2024