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Tuesday, March 19, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Falsified Pollution Records Alleged in Shipping Indictment

The managers of a Liberian-flagged cargo vessel face U.S. charges accusing them of doctoring paperwork on its discharge of oily waste water.

PORTLAND, Maine (CN) – The managers of a Liberian-flagged cargo vessel face U.S. charges accusing them of doctoring paperwork on its discharge of oily waste water.

When the M/V Marguerita entered U.S. waters and ports on at least eight occasions between September 2016 and June 2016, according to the Aug. 22 indictment, it presented a false Oil Record Book to inspectors at the U.S. Coast Guard.

Federal prosecutors say management company MST Mineralien Schiffarht Spedition Und Transport GmbH and vessel owner Reederei MS “Marguerita” GmbH & Co. Geschlossene Investment KG were responsible for the Oil Record Book’s upkeep.

A federal grand jury returned a nine-count indictment against the two German companies in Maine.

They are charged with failing to maintain an accurate oil record book as required by the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, and with falsification of records with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence inspections and examinations of the M/V Marguerita by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Congress adopted the aforementioned ship-pollution to implement the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, commonly known as MARPOL.  

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Categories / Criminal, Environment, Government

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