Ship’s Owner Charged in 88-Gallon Fuel Spill
Two misdemeanor charges were filed Tuesday against the owner of an Argentine cargo ship that spilled 88 gallons of fuel into Los Angeles Harbor last April.
The charges against Maruba S.C.A., the company that owns the cargo ship Centurian, mark the first local use of the state’s year-old Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act, Deputy City Atty. Don Kass said. Under the act, anyone convicted of knowingly or negligently spilling oil into marine waters can be sentenced to up to a year in County Jail and ordered to pay up to $500,000.
Company officials, who will be arraigned in Los Angeles Municipal Court on Dec. 12, also face a charge of depositing a petroleum product in state waters, which carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Kass said that the April 17 spill took place as the ship was receiving fuel from a barge.
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