Chief Engineer Sentenced for Ship Pollution Violations in New Orleans

The chief engineer of a Liberian-flagged vessel was sentenced to prison for environmental offenses and violations after pleading guilty to breaking laws aimed at preventing ship pollution. Feu Wang, a 38-year-old Chinese national, was given a three-month prison term, three years of supervised release, and mandatory special assessment fee of $200. Wang served as chief engineer on the Chinese ship M/V Asl Singapore when it called at the port of New Orleans in February 2024.

US Coast Guard inspectors found fraudulent entries in the ship’s oil record books during a port state inspection, revealing that Wang had presented fake records to conceal the direct discharge of oily waste. Illegal dumping had occurred since at least October 2023 under Wang’s watch as chief engineer. Court documents disclosed that the crew used a makeshift bypass pipe to avoid required environmental equipment and monitoring, thereby violating regulations. The ship’s oily water separator remained unused during Wang’s tenure.

The investigation was a joint effort between the Coast Guard Investigative Service, the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigations Division, and the US Coast Guard Sector New Orleans. The case was handled by the General Crimes Unit of the US Attorney’s Office. Damon J. Youman, the CGIS Gulf Field Office’s supervising special agent, emphasized the significance of holding violators accountable for Marpol violations, particularly those involving improper disposal of oily waste.

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