Ship Officer Imprisoned for Dumping Oily Waste in Ocean
A 50-year-old named Giacomo Curatolo, a senior officer of an Italian oil tanker has been sentenced to eight months in federal prison after he was guilty of violating the Act to prevent pollution from ships.
According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the senior officer, had admitted that the crew of ‘Cielo di Milano’ had deliberately evaded pollution prevention equipment by discharging oily waste from the engine room through the vessel’s sewage system into the sea.
It was reported that Curatolo was the vessel’s chief engineer in January 2015, when he allegedly made false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard personnel during an inspection and ordered crew members to destroy the vessel’s sounding log, which keeps track of the contents of storage tanks aboard the ship. The ship’s first assistant engineer, Danilo Maimone has also pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to obstruct justice and is scheduled to be sentenced on January 18, 2017.
Prosecutors said the vessel made multiple stops in New Jersey, as well as ports in Maryland and Florida.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Susan D. Wigenton sentenced Curatolo to one year of supervised release and ordered him to pay a $5,000 as fine.
Did you subscribe for our daily newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe!
Source: NJ