US federal court fines Greece’s Navimax US$2 million for illegal oil discharge

A federal district court in the United States has fined Greek shipping company Navimax Corporation US$2 million for discharging oil waste illegally in international waters and for concealing evidence of it from US authorities.

Navimax’s crude oil tanker Nave Cielo was en route from New Orleans to Belgium when, on November 2, 2017, it discharged a high volume of dark brown and black oil waste after leaving port.

Nave Cielo was about to undergo an inspection prior to entering the Port of Delaware on December 7, 2017, when a crewmember gave US Coast Guard officials that had boarded the vessel a thumb drive containing two videos of the 10-minute discharge.

The coast guard later discovered during the inspection that the vessel’s oil record book showed no entry mentioning the discharge.

Upon review of evidence and statements given, the court found Navimax guilty of one count of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and one count of obstruction of justice due to the entry of the oil discharge having been deliberately omitted from Nave Cielo’s oil record book.

In addition to being ordered to immediately pay the US$2 million fine, Navimax has been placed under a four-year probation period.