S. Korean Firms to Pay for Dumping Oil in Oceans

A consortium of South Korean shipping companies has admitted that its freighters sailing between Alaska and Asia illegally dumped oily waste at sea for years and will pay a $5-million fine, federal officials said Thursday.

The sister companies, which operate about a dozen ships that carry frozen seafood from Alaska, have pleaded guilty to environmental and conspiracy charges, officials said.

Top company officials also were indicted on charges related to the dumping, Alaska U.S. Atty. Tim Burgess said.

“As this investigation shows, crimes against the environment are serious, and if you are caught there are serious consequences,” Burgess said at a news conference where the plea agreements and indictments were unveiled.

The ships operated by the South Korean companies routinely used hoses to bypass oil and water separators that are mandated by international environmental law, federal officials said.

Using the bypass hoses, the ships dumped their oily bilge water and oil sludge directly into the sea instead of treating waste water and properly disposing of waste oil at shore. It was a regular practice that dated to 1995, prosecutors said, and resulted in tens of thousands of gallons of oily waste being dumped each year by the cargo fleet.

Those indicted included a man who is Boyang Maritime’s general manager and a major shareholder and board member. Also indicted were two other managers, a ship captain and a chief engineer. The indictments, issued by a federal grand jury Wednesday, charge conspiracy, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, lying to investigators and making false statements.

One captain and two chief engineers from ships in the companies’ fleet already have pleaded guilty.