Operator And Owner Of Oil Tanker Plead Guilty To Concealment Of Pollution From Vessel And Obstruction Of Justice

Press Release

NEWARK, N.J. - Two Greek shipping companies pleaded guilty today to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), falsifying records and obstruction of justice. The charges arose out of two United States port calls in which crew members of the Motor Tanker Kriti Ruby presented false records to the U.S. Coast Guard to conceal illegal transfers and discharges of oily bilge water from the vessel.

In accordance with the plea, United States District Judge Esther Salas sentenced Avin International Ltd. and Kriti Ruby Special Maritime Enterprises to pay a criminal fine of $3,375,000 and a $1,250,000 community service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. She also sentenced them to serve five-year terms of probation during which they will be subject to environmental compliance plans with a monitorship to ensure future compliance.

The companies pleaded guilty for violating APPS in May and September 2022 during port calls by the Kriti Ruby to Jacksonville, Florida, and the Sewaren Terminal of the port of Newark, respectively. The companies also pleaded guilty to falsification of records and obstruction of justice in connection with the September 2022 port call.

The Kriti Ruby's former chief engineer, Konstantinos Atsalis, was sentenced today to time served and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine after previously pleading guilty to charges related to the discharge of oily waste into the sea - including concealing the pollution by falsifying records - from the Kriti Ruby near the petroleum terminal in Sewaren, New Jersey. Second engineer Sonny Bosito was sentenced to time served for concealing pollution by falsifying records.

"Maritime pollution is extremely harmful to the environment, and so difficult to detect, especially when the polluters take elaborate steps to falsify records to conceal their crimes," U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey said. "Law protecting our seas exist for a reason, and we will work together with our enforcement partners to ensure they are followed, and violators are punished."

"Prioritizing profits over the environment by discharging oily waste into the sea and working to cover up that pollution is illegal," said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. "We are committed to enforcing the law and fighting against maritime pollution."

"Today's plea demonstrates our unwavering commitment, in partnership with the Environmental Crimes Section and the U.S. Attorney's Office, to ensuring compliance of critical domestic oil pollution laws and holding violators of these laws accountable," said Rear Admiral Michael E. Platt, Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard's First District. "Please assist the Coast Guard in these vital efforts by promptly reporting any suspicions of similar illegal activity onboard vessels directly to the Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS)."

According to court documents and statements made in court:

The Kriti Ruby is an ocean-going oil tanker registered in Greece. It is owned by Avin International and operated by Kriti Ruby Special Maritime Enterprises. On multiple occasions between May and September 2022, crew members discharged oily waste into the sea via the ship's sewage system, bypassing required pollution prevention equipment. They did not, as required, record these discharges in the vessel's oil record book. To make it difficult for the USCG to discover, crew members concealed most of the pumps and hoses used to conduct the bypass operations in a sealed void space called a "cofferdam."

As part of his guilty plea, Atsalis admitted to falsifying the vessel's oil record book and he acknowledged that the vessel's crew had knowingly bypassed required pollution prevention equipment by discharging oily waste from the vessel's engine room through its sewage system into the sea. Additionally, he admitted that he directed crew members to hide equipment used to conduct these transfers.

Bosito admitted to causing a false oil record book to be presented to the USCG during its inspection of the Kriti Ruby. He also admitted to directing crew members to hide equipment used to conduct transfers from the bilge wells to the sewage tank before the USCG's inspection.

The USCG's Investigative Service investigated the case. Individuals can report suspicious activity onboard vessels to CGIS TIPS at www.p3tips.com/878.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Stern and Kathleen P. O'Leary and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine E. Ward for the District of New Jersey and Senior Trial Attorney Kenneth E. Nelson and Trial Attorney Lauren D. Steele of the Environment and Natural Resources Division's Environmental Crimes Section prosecuted the case.

Updated December 23, 2024