Firm to Pay $500,000 in R.I. Oil Spill
A shipping company and a tanker captain pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges of causing a 300,000-gallon oil spill off Rhode Island in June and agreed to pay fines totaling more than $500,000.
Ballard Shipping Co., a Liberian-registered firm operating in Piraeus, Greece, agreed to pay $500,000 to the state for environmental research. The captain, Iakovos Georgudis, a Greek citizen, agreed to a $10,000 fine. Each pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor violation of the federal Clean Water Act.
U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres conditionally accepted the pleas pending his review of the case. He set sentencing for Sept. 15.
Nearly 300,000 gallons of heating oil spilled into the mouth of Narragansett Bay off Newport when the tanker World Prodigy ran aground on June 23.
U.S. Atty. Lincoln Almond said he did not press for harsher penalties because the spill resulted from simple negligence.
The captain could have received a year in jail and a penalty equal to twice the amount of the damage. The Coast Guard has estimated the cleanup cost alone at $2 million.
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