Ship Management Company Fined $1.75M For Falsifying Oil Records & Illegal Discharges At Sea

Discharge at sea — Image for representation purposes only

Gremex Shipping S.A. de C.V. was fined $1.75 million for failing to maintain accurate records and hiding illegal discharges of oily bilge waste from its ship, the M/V Suhar.

The Mexican corporation pleaded guilty in federal district court in Pensacola, Florida, to accusations of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.

The case started from a US Coast Guard inquiry after the Suhar arrived in Pensacola on August 25, 2023.

This bulk carrier, registered under the Panamanian flag and weighing 7,602 gross tons, delivered cement on a regular basis from Tampico, Mexico, to Pensacola.

Gremex has managed the ship’s operations since March 2021, including hiring the crew and maintaining compliance with environmental regulations.

During their investigation, Coast Guard personnel found that the Suhar’s crew was discharging untreated oily bilge water directly into the ocean, ignoring the required pollution control equipment. The crew falsified the ship’s oil record book to hide their illegal operations.

The United States and Panama both prohibit oily bilge water discharges at sea under MARPOL international treaty regulations.

Ships must use oily water separators to treat bilge water before disposal, and they must maintain an accurate oil record book for compliance purposes.

The company will pay a $1.75 million fine, serve a four-year probationary period, and develop an environmental compliance plan to be implemented during the probation period as part of the agreed sentencing deal between the government and Gremex.

The Coast Guard’s Investigative Service conducted the inquiry, with the announcement made by Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim and United States Attorney Jason R. Coody for the Northern District of Florida.

Reference: U.S Justice

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