Annex I Violations

Every month or so, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) has a press release on a conviction of or guilty plea by a ship or owner on a MARPOL Annex I (oil pollution) violation.

As I stated previously, the US DoJ uses fraudulent oil record book (ORB) entries to lay criminal charges against the officers of the ship and the company. In the most recent press release DoJ state that the ship did not maintain the Annex I required ORB accurately, at least between 2006 and 2009. Whereas in Canada pollution charges are based on pollution, as detected by satellite, plane or other observation, a ship visiting US ports can be charged for pollution based on the inaccurate ORB entries, regardless of where or when they were made. The criminal act is in the presentation of the fraudulent entries in the ORB to the port state control officer.

If fraudulent ORB entries are found and pollution suspected, there is the fine, potential jail for the officers, the fleet is put on a 3 year probation and the company is required to implement an Environmental Compliance Plan (ECP) with annual audit of 75% of the fleet.

In the old FRAM filter commercial the mechanic said "you can pay me now, or pay me later", meaning that it costs to replace a filter but it costs more to repair the engine. Similarly here; yes, an ECP costs money, but the better housekeeping practices it instills do reduce operating costs. On the other hand, muddling along without an ECP carries the risk of deteriorating shipboard practices which may ultimately result in Annex I violations.

The US DoJ suggests that a vigorously implemented ECP can shield the corporation from criminal charges and the related fines.