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Greek shipping firms pay total USD 4.5 million over “M/T Kriti Ruby” oil pollution

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Avin International Ltd. and Kriti Ruby Special Maritime Enterprises ordered to pay a criminal fine and community service payment.
Kriti Ruby

The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday (23 December) sentenced two Greek shipping companies for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), falsifying records and obstruction of justice.

The charges arose out of two United States port calls in which crew members of the Motor Tanker Kriti Ruby presented false records to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to conceal illegal transfers and discharges of oily bilge water from the vessel.

As part of the plea, Avin International Ltd. and Kriti Ruby Special Maritime Enterprises were ordered to pay a criminal fine of $3,375,000 and a $1,125,000 community service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Both companies were also sentenced to serve five-year terms of probation during which they will be subject to environmental compliance plans with a monitorship to ensure future compliance.

The companies pleaded guilty and were sentenced for violating APPS in May and September 2022 during port calls by the Kriti Ruby to Jacksonville, Florida, and the Sewaren Terminal of the port of Newark, New Jersey, respectively. The companies also pleaded guilty and were sentenced for falsification of records and obstruction of justice in connection with the September 2022 port call.

The Kriti Ruby’s former chief engineer, Konstantinos Atsalis, was sentenced on 23 December to time served and a USD 5,000 fine after previously pleading guilty to charges related to the discharge of oily waste into the sea — including concealing the pollution by falsifying records — from the Kriti Ruby near the petroleum terminal in Sewaren, New Jersey. Second engineer Sonny Bosito was sentenced to time served for concealing pollution by falsifying records.

“Prioritising profits over the environment by discharging oily waste into the sea and working to cover up that pollution is illegal,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “We are committed to enforcing the law and fighting against maritime pollution.”

Related: Chief Engineer of oil tanker “M/T Kriti Ruby” pleads guilty to discharging oily waste in New Jersey

 

Photo credit: MarineTraffic / Philippe Variot
Published: 27 December 2024

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