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Egyptian Shipping Firm to Pay $7.25 Million Fine for Oil Dumping

A federal court in Oregon has sentenced Egypt-based shipping firm National Navigation Co. to pay $7.25 million for falsifying ship logs to conceal that it was illegally dumping waste in oceans around the world.

The sentence is the largest ever in the Pacific Northwest for this type of case, according to a statement by the Department of Justice.

The company pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon to 15 felony counts, including making false statements to federal officials and violating the federal Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.

Under the plea agreement National Navigation also must develop, fund and implement a fleet-wide environmental compliance program approved by the United States.

The multidistrict prosecution was initiated in Oregon and also included charges filed in Seattle and New Orleans that were later consolidated in Oregon.

"We must - and we will - hold vessel companies responsible for dumping waste oil in our oceans and lying to investigators and Coast Guard officials to cover up their conduct," Karin J. Immergut, U.S. attorney for the District of Oregon, said in a statement.

"We are also pleased that the court ordered the defendant to pay over $2 million to protect the environment in Oregon," Immergut said.

The Justice Department said $2 million of the fine will fund environmental projects in Oregon administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Fund.

According to the agency's press release, the Coast Guard found evidence of illegal ocean discharges of sludge and oily bilge water during a November inspection at the Dreyfus Grain Terminal in Portland, Ore.

Further investigations revealed that crew members abroad six vessels in National Navigation's fleet had dumped thousands of gallons of waste oil, including sludge, in oceans around the world since 1999, the Justice Department said. The crew members also falsified official ship records, the agency said.

Prosecutors did not seek higher penalties because of National Navigation's cooperation with the investigation and "swift acceptance of responsibility" for the criminal violations, the Justice Department said.

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To comment, ask questions or contribute articles, contact West.Andrews.Editor@Thomson.com.