(CN) — A Korean commercial cargo ship operator must pay $2.2 million for lying about dumping oily bilge waste into the ocean off the coast of Florida.
The Korean corporation STX Pan Ocean Co., which operates the commercial cargo ship M/V Ocean Jade, pleaded guilty to four federal felonies in April relating to chief engineers' and crew members' non-compliance with environmental regulations with regards to dumping of the ships waste.
According to plea agreements filed in July of 2008, Chief Engineer Hong Hak Kang and Chief Officer Jeong Gyu Lee ordered crew members to dump oily waste water directly overboard without passing it through an oil-water separator.
When the ship arrived in the Port of Tampa, Kang and Lee gave U.S. Coast Guards falsified waste disposal records, says the Justice Department.
Kang and Lee both pleaded guilty to felony offenses related to falsifying the ships record books.
The case was prosecuted by Cherie L. Krigsman, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.
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