Oil is slippery
A New Jersey court found a Singapore shipping company guilty of seven felony charges and has fined it us $6.5 million for illegal dumping off the New Jersey coast.
Wallenius Ship Management Pte Ltd came under a us Coast Guard investigation in November after the crew of one of its ships, the m/v Atlantic Breeze, sent a fax to an international seafarers union alleging that they were being ordered to dump oil and waste, us Attorney Christopher J Christie said.
The us Coast Guards checked the vessel and found that it had a concealed piping system used to dump contaminants overboard, which was being done since 2002.
The ship's chief engineer also pleaded guilty to submitting false records and has been sentenced to five years in prison.
"This is not an uncommon practice,' Christie said. He promised more prosecutions "when we come across such wanton disregard for the ocean and the environment'.