Ship officers indicted in Alaska dumping case
Date: 25-Mar-02
Country: USA
The officers served on a pair of Panamanian-flagged, South Korean-operated freighters, the Khana and the Sohoh. The ships were among four operated by Oswego Ltd. that were inspected in the Aleutian Island port of Dutch Harbor by the U.S. Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Inspectors found problems on all four of the ships, and the investigation into environmental violations is continuing, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Feldis.
According to one indictment, Doo Hyun Kim and In Ho Kim, the captain and chief engioneer of the Khana, rigged up a piping system on their ship to bypass the legally mandated device that separates waste oil from water.
U.S. Coast Guard inspectors found a 15-foot (4.6-metre) section of plastic hose that appeared to bypass the ship's oil-water separator, according to the indictment.
The captain and chief engineer were also charged with instructing other crew members to lie about the ship's waste practices.
In the second indictment, Je Yong Lee, chief engineer of the Sohoh, is charged with falsifying records, obstructing a Coast Guard proceeding and witness tampering.
A trial has been set for May 13, officials said. Each of the charges carry maximum possible penalties of five to 10 years in prison plus a $250,000 fine, officials said.
The three defendants were being detained in Anchorage, with one in jail, one in a halfway house and one in the custody of a third party and wearing a monitoring device, Feldis said.
The vessels, which had been held in Dutch Harbor, have been released by the Coast Guard, Feldis said.
