Chief engineer Denys Korotkiy convicted in pollution case

Chief engineer convicted in pollution case
Bojan Lepic June 14, 2023 https://splash247.com/cargo-ship-chief-engineer-convicted-in-pollution-c...

A chief engineer of a general cargo ship is facing potential jail time after being convicted by a jury in the US in a pollution case.

Documents provided by the US Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of California said that chief engineer Denys Korotkiy was convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice, and failure to maintain an accurate oil record book for the vessel Donald (now named Gaja) following a five-day jury trial in San Diego.

The company that operated Donald at the time, Germany-based Interunity Management, previously pleaded guilty to maintaining false and incomplete records relating to the discharge of oily bilge water.

According to the verdict, the evidence showed that oily bilge water was illegally dumped from the Donald directly into the ocean through the vessel’s sewage holding tank without being properly processed through the required pollution prevention equipment.

Oily bilge water typically contains oil contamination from the operation and cleaning of machinery on the vessel.

These illegal discharges were not recorded in the vessel’s oil record book as required by law. The evidence also showed that Korotkiy made false and fictitious entries in the oil record book claiming transfers of oily bilge had been made from the vessel’s engine room bilge wells to the vessel’s bilge holding tank when, in fact, those transfers had not been made.

Finally, the evidence showed that he conspired with others to obstruct the United States Coast Guard’s inspection and investigation into the mishandling of oily bilge water onboard the vessel. After the trial, the court remanded Korotkiy into custody. Sentencing is scheduled for September 1.

“The illegal discharge of oily bilge water at sea and the falsification and destruction of records to obstruct the United States’ ability to investigate those discharges are crimes we take seriously. The Department of Justice will continue to work with our partner agencies to ensure polluters are held fully accountable,” said assistant attorney general Todd Kim.

In the same matter, Interunity Management pleaded guilty to failing to accurately maintain the vessel’s oil record book. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Interunity will pay a total fine of $1.25m and serve a four-year term of probation, during which any vessels operated by the company and calling on US ports will be required to implement a robust environmental compliance plan.

see also
Chief Engineer Convicted for Obstruction Of Justice And Oil Record Book Offenses
MI News Network June 14, 2023 https://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/chief-engineer-convicted-for...