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Ignorance and Poor Paperwork Blamed for Bulk of U.S. Prosecutions

"Ignorance and poor paperwork blamed for bulk of U.S prosecutions," by Liz McMahon first appeared in Lloyd's List on June 7, 2012. www.lloydslist.com.

Posidonia 2012: Shipowners Urged to Sharpen Their Awareness of Environmental Requirements

Shipowners have been warned that poor paperwork and ignorance, rather than actual pollution, are the most common reasons why the U.S. enforces environmental regulation.

Speaking at the NAMEPA Environmental Issues and Compliance in the U.S. seminar held at Posidonia today, Blank Rome partner Jeanne Grasso said a good chunk of work that came her way was from people who had already fallen foul of compliance. She urged shipowners to raise their awareness of the environmental requirements that now exist in the U.S.

Ms. Grasso explained that there was now a memorandum of understanding between the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard that states the EPA develops protocols while the USCG enforces them.

Any company wishing to operate in U.S. waters must have a vessel guarantee permit. Those docking at various locations around the U.S. coast must also be aware that many states have more stringent regulations than those required by federal law, because the EPA currently permits states to add extra laws, Ms. Grasso said.

An example she gave was that in five states cargo owners are liable in the same way as ship operators in the event of an environmental incident, while other states have chosen to apply unlimited liability.

Ms. Grasso also told the audience to be aware that those falling foul of certain regulations, such as whale speeding, may not find out they have violated the regulation for a considerable amount of time. She said there was seasonal management of areas where ships were required to travel at a speed of 10 knots. She explained that this requirement was monitored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration via AIS data.

The NOAA looks for vessels that go faster than 15 knots for over three miles. The process can be lengthy. The result is the body can find violations two years after the incident and this can be particularly problematic if there have been a series of violations after this point. Ms. Grasso said a fine for one incident was in the region of $5,000 to $7,000 and that she knew of one company that had to pay for 18 separate incidents of speeding.

In terms of complying with the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, MARPOL, in the U.S. Ms Grasso said that accuracy in the vessel’s oil record book was paramount. She said that false records were usually a problem the led to investigation, but then those who tried to doctor the ORB post-incident were too common and made the situation much worse.

She highlighted several “red flags” that suggested the crew may have tried to cover up an incident such as discharges in excess of capacity, conflicts between the sounding log and the ORB, turned nuts and bolts and chipped paint as well as fresh paint and use of different colours.