Shipping Company Cited for Emitting Oily Cloud
Air quality officials have cited a shipping company in connection with a cargo vessel’s release last Tuesday of a huge black cloud that rained soot on scores of Wilmington yachts.
The AQMD cited Matson Navigation for creating a public nuisance when the Maui, a cargo ship owned by the company, belched an oily cloud from its smokestacks while undergoing repairs at its Terminal Island berth.
AQMD spokeswoman Paula Levy said the citation carries a maximum fine of $25,000, but that the actual amount will be set in negotiations between Matson and the air quality agency. State fish and game officials, meanwhile, are determining whether water pollution from the soot constituted a violation of the state oil-spill prevention law.
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