US: Singaporean Shipping Company Pleads Guilty to Oily Bilge Dumping

On February 26, 2020, Unix Line, a Singapore-based shipping company, pleaded guilty in federal court to a violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, the US Department of Justice said.

In pleading guilty, Unix Line admitted that its crew members onboard the Zao Galaxy, an 16,408 GT ocean-going tanker, knowingly failed to record in the vessel’s oil record book the overboard discharge of oily bilge water without the use of required pollution-prevention equipment.

According to the plea agreement, Unix Line is the operator of the Zao Galaxy, which set sail from the Philippines on January 21, 2019, heading toward Richmond, California, carrying a cargo of palm oil.

On February 11, 2019, the Zao Galaxy arrived in Richmond, where it underwent a U.S. Coast Guard inspection and examination. Examiners discovered that during the voyage, a Unix Line-affiliated ship officer directed crew members to discharge oily bilge water overboard. The discharges were knowingly not recorded in the Zao Galaxy’s oil record book.

Unix Line’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 20, the Department of Justice added.

Established in 1990, Unix Line is a full subsidiary of MOL Chemical Tankers — formerly known as Tokyo Marine.

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