The owners of the Cyprus flagship Arion SB were convicted on November 2 of felony environmental crimes and subsequently fined $750,000. Half of the money from the fine will be given to the Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment, according to The Oregonian.
Lounia Shipping Co. Ltd., of Cyprus and A.E. Nomikos Shipping Inv. Ltd., of Greece were hit with a joint penalty by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon for fabricating records for the ship’s onboard waste-oil incinerator and neglecting to keep proper records for disposal of oil residue, the media outlet reports.
Federal documents indicate that the Arion SB was boarded by the U.S. Coast Guard on October 16 for a safety inspection, and the crew presented the visitors with documentation of oil disposal and transfer so that it could be inspected, according to the media outlet.
Questioning of crew members by both the Coast Guard and investigators working for the Environmental Protection Agency revealed that management working for the two companies had instructed their employees to operate the vessel’s oil water separator in an improper fashion, the media outlet reports.
Oil that is floating in water can be absorbed using top products from Impact Absorbents such as its XSORB Oil Select Boom.
