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Shipping Co. To Pay $3M Over Oily Discharge In Guam Port
Law360 (February 19, 2021, 3:00 PM EST) A ship operating company that admitted to illegally dumping oil into the Port of Guam must pay a $3 million criminal fine and implement a rigorous environmental compliance for the next four years whenever calling on U.S. ports, a federal judge said Friday.
Singapore company Pacific International Lines Ltd. and members of one of its crew on board the vessel Kota Harum admitted to the discharge, in which engineers on board ordered that oily bilge be let out from the ship directly into Apra Harbor, Guam, without first going through pollution control devices. A lower ranked employee of the ship was.
Commanding officers to get more involved in SAIL program February 8 Sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln participate in an overnight “Out of the Darkness Walk,” to recognize Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in Newport News, Va.,, in 2015. (MC3 Rob Ferrone/Navy) The Navy is adjusting procedures for the Sailor Assistance and Intercept for Life program requiring commanding officers to take a more proactive approach to ensure sailors at risk for suicide establish communication with the program. The SAIL program is a service offered through Fleet and Family Support Centers for sailors who have exhibited suicide-related thinking or behavior. SAIL case managers equip these sailors with additional resources and are also responsible for communicating with their healthcare providers and command leadership.
The Guam Shipyard has agreed to pay $68,388 in penalties after federal inspectors in 2017, 2018, and 2019 reportedly saw contaminated runoff from the shipyard pouring directly into Apra Harbor, which violates the Clean Water Act.
The shipyard at the time was performing ship repair activity at the Port Authority of Guam’s Hotel Wharf, documents state, and stormwater from the site was flowing into the harbor through drainage pipes.
“Stormwater discharges from the facility likely contain sandblasting grit, paint particles, suspended solids, debris, fuel oils and metals such as zinc and copper as a result of activities that include sand blasting, pressure washing, maintenance, fuel and waste storage,” states a complaint filed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Shipyard employees also were seen discharging non-stormwater into the harbor using a hose, the complaint states.
Guam Shipyard Settles EPA Pollution Violations
Maritime Activity Reports, Inc.
(Photo: Corey Hensley / U.S. Navy)
Ship repair yard Guam Shipyard will pay nearly $70,000 and take measures to improve its facilities following multiple pollution violations discovered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2018.
The EPA said on Tuesday its settlement with Guam Industrial Services, Inc., doing business as Guam Shipyard, includes a $68,388 penalty as well as mandatory installation of preventative measures to reduce the discharge of stormwater pollutants into Apra Harbor.
Guam Shipyard operates a ship repair facility on Cabras Island in Piti, Guam, where it performs activities such as boat repair, sandblasting, high pressure washing, painting and material storage.
By Ben Blanchard / Reuters, TAIPEIA US aircraft carrier group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt has entered the South China Sea to promote “freedom of the seas,” the US military said yesterday, as tensions between China and Taiwan raise concerns in Washington.