ECOCIDE
Singapore Oil Spill During Bunker Operation for Bulker
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore is reporting an oil spill during a bunkering operation in one of its anchorages that was quickly controlled. They believe that the oil has been dispersed but as a precaution, a vessel with a boom was deployed into the Changi region in case oil was spotted.
The bulker Ines Corrado was laying over in Singapore and bunkered while in the anchorage. The 81,272 dwt bulker registered in the Bahamans and operated by Gestin Maritime is bound for China.
The bunkering operation was underway with an unnamed licensed vessel when the spill was reported at 5:40 p.m. local time on Monday, October 28. The response team arrived in about 10 minutes and began spraying dispersants. Estimates are that five tons of oil overflowed during the bunkering operation.
Video courtesy of MPA and prepared by TT Salvage Asia Pte Ltd
A survey of the area this morning showed no visible oil in the area. The MPA will investigate the incident.
It was the third recent oil spill in one of the world’s busiest bunker ports but smaller than the other recent reports. Nine days ago, Shell reported a leak from one of its land-based pipelines. About 30 to 40 tonnes of Slop (mix of oil and water) leaked. Multiple Singapore agencies were involved in the clean-up operation.
The port had a more serve incident in June when the dredger Vox Maxima blacked out and hit the bunker vessel Marine Honour. About 400 tonnes of fuel were released from the bunker vessel which sustained significant damage.
Mexican Shipmanager Fined $1.75M for Oily Bilge Water Dumping
The U.S. Department of Justice has fined a Mexican ship manager nearly two million dollars for MARPOL violations. It is the latest in a long series of hefty penalties for operators whose crews save on disposal costs by pumping oily bilge waste over the side.
On August 25, 2023, U.S. Coast Guard inspectors met the bulker Suhar at the port of Pensacola. Suhar was hauling cement under the management of Gremex Shipping S.A., which had operated the ship since 2021.
On boarding, the Coast Guard found evidence that the crew had discharged untreated bilge water into the sea, bypassing their oily water separator, then falsifying the oil record book. Specifically, the Coast Guard alleged that "the ORB failed to include entries of all discharges of oily bilge water from the vessel." Illegal untreated discharges are typically used to avoid the cost of shoreside disposal of oily waste, saving the operator money and improving the bottom line; these violations are grounds for a detention or administrative proceeding in most jurisdictions, but are prosecuted as a criminal offense in the United States.
Gremex waived its right to a grand jury indictment, and it pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of failing to maintain an accurate oil record book. The firm agreed to a fine of $1.75 million, payable over three years. It will also pay for an environmental compliance plan to cover one vessel, the Grit Cement IV.
No individual crewmembers or executives were charged under the plea agreement.
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