The captain of the tanker ship 'Green Sky', Genaro Anciano, has pleaded guilty to obstructing a US Coast Guard investigation into pollution crimes aboard the vessel in court in Charleston, USA.
The charge came from a coast guard investigation in August 2015 into the bypass of pollution prevention equipment on the 'Green Sky'.
The 'Green Sky' is a 30,263-tonne, ocean-going vessel that operates as a petroleum and chemical tanker. The vessel is approximately 120 metres in length and is registered in Liberia.
Over the course of several days, the normal operation of the 'Green Sky' generates thousands of gallons of bilge wastes that are contaminated with petroleum products and oil residues. These bilge wastes must be removed for the vessel to operate safely.
It was prohibited to discharge bilge wastes from the 'Green Sky' without first running that effluent through the ship's oily water separator. According to the MARPOL treaty, all overboard discharges from the vessel's bilges had to be recorded in the 'Green Sky's' oil record book.
In court papers, the defendant stated that members of the ship's engine room, including a senior officer, admitted to illegally discharging overboard. These admissions occurred prior to the August 2015 coast guard inspection at the Port of North Charleston.
During the investigation, Captain Anciano made several false and misleading statements to the coast guard to cover up the illegal conduct.