Clipper Shipping, a division of Norway’s Solvang, a leading transporter of LNG and petrochemical gases, was ordered to appear in a Houston court on April 18 for an initial hearing in a MARPOL violations case. While the US brings several MARPOL cases against merchant ships each year, this case is rather unusual given that it did not take place in a US port and the manner in which the situation was discovered.
The criminal complaint was filed on April 6, 2023 in the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, against Clipper Shipping and its vessel, the Clipper Saturn. An unnamed chief engineer is named as responsible and responsible for the problems of the violation.
In the filing, the US Attorney for the Southern District of Texas says the US, as part of an international regime, enforces MARPOL agreements to prevent pollution. They emphasize that the US, in its role, enforces the rules for ships regardless of their registration in US navigable waters or in a port or terminal under US jurisdiction. The Coast Guard has powers of inspection and enforcement of the law.
The filing does not explain how the US discovered these violations. They were apparently spotted during a routine U.S. Coast Guard inspection when the 42,500 dwt clipper Saturn arrived in the Port of Houston around October 28, 2021. Built in 2015 and registered in Norway, the vessel belongs to the company’s fleet of large gas carriers designed to transport butane, propane or ammonia. It has a loading capacity of 60,000 cbm.
The criminal information in the file points to the ship’s legal obligation to maintain an oil record book detailing all of its waste oil operations and discharges. They point out that the chief engineer, as senior officer in the engine room, is responsible for the correctness of the logbook.
They allege that the clipper Saturn illegally dumped oily waste at anchor. Instead of happening in US waters, they claim the incident happened while the ship was anchored off the coast of Lome, Togo in West Africa.
The first details do not claim that the dismissal was seen and is being investigated. Instead, during a routine documentary review in Houston, they report that the U.S. Coast Guard discovered that the oil log “did not contain correctly recorded entries for discharges of engine room bilge water that had not been processed and discharged to a shore facility or barge .” They claim the incidents happened a month before the inspection, between September 27 and October 1, when the ship was anchored off Togo.
The April 18 court appearance in Houston is a preliminary hearing to set the terms of the case. Typically, courts have ordered a ship’s crew members to remain in the US while the case goes ahead, which can mean they can be held in the US for months. The typical result is a fine and probation for the company, and many shipping companies settle cases rather than go to court. However, the ship’s officers could serve a prison sentence if convicted.
Source: News Network
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