Shipping company fined in pollution probe

A Greek shipping company must pay the federal government $300,000 after admitting that one of its vessels discharged waste oil into the Atlantic Ocean

The Advocate reports U.S. Attorney Donald J. Cazayoux Jr. announced Wednesday that half of the $300,000 fine will be paid to a crew member, Joel Basinang.

Assistant U.S. Attorney M. Patricia Jones stated that Basinang, who worked as an oiler in the ship's engine room, provided evidence of the illegal discharges to the U.S. Coast Guard after the Greek-operated vessel was moored in the Mississippi River in Ascension Parish.

Attorneys for Cleopatra Shipping Agency Ltd., operator of the Liberia-registered vessel M/V Stellar Wind, admitted in a signed statement that the ship's crew bypassed an oil-and-water separator before pumping contaminated water from its bottom.