MEC&F Expert Engineers : 07/16/16

Saturday, July 16, 2016

Columbia Gas of Ohio says its natural gas mains and service lines didn’t cause an explosion at a Reynoldsburg apartment complex





Gas company: Gas mains didn't cause explosion in Ohio


 

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published on July 16, 2016
 


REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — Gas company officials say their natural gas mains and service lines didn’t cause an explosion at a Reynoldsburg apartment complex.

Columbia Gas of Ohio says in a statement Friday that it did a thorough investigation of the complex and determined the gas main and service lines serving it are safe.

Thursday night’s blast destroyed a maintenance building, blew out neighboring apartment windows and damaged nearby homes. No one was in the building at the time, and there were no injuries.

Columbia Gas says it will restore gas service to the 36 customers affected once residents are allowed back into their units.

It says it will continue working with the Truro Township Fire Department, the City of Columbus Fire Department and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio on their investigation.



===================================


Still no cause of explosion that leveled building at Reynoldsburg apartment complex 

 

 


JULY 15, 2016

Century City Apartments resident Yamaguchi Kyo was relaxing Thursday evening when the shock wave from a nearby explosion rattled his walls.

Kyo said he was a bit rattled himself as he joined a growing group of neighbors who had assembled in the apartment building parking lot to see what had caused the explosion moments earlier.

Truro Township Fire Chief Steve Hein said the cause of the explosion that demolished the apartment complex’s maintenance building in Reynoldsburg has not been determined.

City of Reynoldsburg workers were still sweeping up the glass from the row of apartments across from the maintenance building on Century City North as Truro Township Fire Department and Columbia Gas of Ohio arrived Friday morning to continue the investigation into what caused the building to explode and catch fire.

Reynoldsburg police, as well as a special duty officer, have been assigned to patrol the apartment complex area in the wake of the incident.

Columbia Gas of Ohio crews were on scene to gather more information, working in conjunction with other officials, including the Truro Township Fire Department.

“I can’t confirm any type of cause right now,” spokeswoman Kelli Nowinsky said. “We still do not know, so our investigation is still ongoing.”

Hein said flammable, compressed gas was being stored in the building, but added he couldn’t assign cause until Columbia Gas concluded initial tests.

Lisa Thomas, who lives about 100 yards from the explosion site, said she was watching TV when her living-room window shattered. She said she heard three loud booms. The first two bangs occurred within seconds of one another. Her electricity went out with the first.

“It threw me into shock,” she said, staring at the pile of rubble and lumber left after the explosion. An electric transformer is perched beside the site.

The maintenance building stands alone, across a small street from the closest apartment building. No injuries as a result of the explosion have been reported.

Hein estimated that between 84 and 90 apartment units suffered damage Thursday night.

Residents with broken windows will have to be moved, Hein said. Crews had boarded up the shattered windows along the rows of apartments facing the maintenance building. The boarded windows would make it difficult for firefighters to enter the building in the event of a fire, he said.

Miami Ratcliff, senior property manager at Homestead America, the property management company for Century City Apartments, said her main concern, now knowing there are no injuries, is ensuring displaced residents have somewhere to live while buildings undergo maintenance.

The American Red Cross had been on scene since Thursday night, helping coordinate the relocation of residents.

Some residents were relocated Thursday night to the nearby Days Inn and Red Roof Inn.

“The hotel was good, but there’s no place like home,” said Craig Scott, whose apartment was damaged on Thursday.

Homestead America employees escorted tenants into their apartments Friday afternoon to gather belongings before leaving for a shelter at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers building on Lancaster Avenue.

“It’s a tough time for anyone who goes through this type of experience, but the sense of community here is great, people helping out their neighbors, making sure their neighbors are good, and our volunteers are right there beside them,” she said.

The location can handle tenants for at least several nights, said Jordan Tetting, spokeswoman for the Red Cross. There, tenants will have access to a warm meal, snacks, water, cots and blankets, as well as toiletries. Nurses will be at the shelter, as well as games and coloring books for children.

Still, for four-year resident Scott, the experience has been stressful. He is not looking forward to the shelter and uncertainty of when he might be able to move back in.

And, as the former apartment maintenance technician, the incident has been mystifying. He said he spent a lot of time in the maintenance building, and said it was well-maintained when he last worked in it last year.

“The whole time I was here, we never had a gas leak in there,” he said. “Everything was put up correctly, all the chemicals were in the little chemical bag that said ‘hazardous’ on it. It had a lock on it. So, I don’t understand it. I’m puzzled.”

One pilot died after gyrocopter, an experimental TAG Toevs built Titanium Explorer, crashed northeast of Whitewater, Butler County, Kansas





Date:

15-JUL-2016
Time:19:00+
Type:TAG Toevs Titanium Explorer
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N556XT
C/n / msn: TX007
Fatalities:Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:0
Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:northeast of Whitewater, Butler County, Kansas -   United States of America
Phase: En route
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Mfr's private field
Destination airport:
Narrative:
The gyrocopter, an experimental Toevs built Titanium Explorer, crashed under unknown circumstances. The pilot died in the crash.
Sources:
http://www.kwch.com/content/news/Emergency-crews-respond-to-possible-plane-crash-in-Butler-Co-387040331.html
http://www.littleapplepost.com/2016/07/16/kansas-man-dies-in-gyrocopter-crash/
http://gyroaccidents.blogspot.com
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=556XT
http://www.rotaryforum.com/forum/attachment.php?s=d9a5be68079cac9d68e2b8fecc9aec2a&attachmentid=121905&d=1453088969

http://www.rotaryforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44022&page=3
http://tagaviation.com.au


Aircraft Type

JAMES L TOEVS/CHRISTINE F G TO
TOEVS TITANIUM EXPLO
TX007

Owner

TOEVS JAMES L
- TOEVS CHRISTINE F G
Co-Owned
24 Mar 2015
14075 NW 110TH ST
WHITEWATER, KS, 671548865
US
N-Number Assigned and Registered

Airframe

2015
2
24 Mar 2015
Not Type Certificated
0
Rotorcraft
Land
04 May 2015

51613724

Engines

1
ROTAX
4 Cycle
914UL
00115
0

Essam Fawaz, 52, a driver for Beltway Transportation Logistics, was killed while driving a tractor-trailer east on I-78 when it veered off the left side of the expressway and hit a bridge abutment








Eastbound Interstate 78 is closed Thursday morning, July 14, 2016, after an accident involving a tractor-trailer happened west of exit 24. (photo by Rich Maxwell | for NJ Advance Media)
Craig Turpin | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

By Spencer Kent | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
  July 15, 2016 at 11:31 PM


 
MIDDLESEX — Fatama Mohmad, the wife of the 52-year-old truck driver killed in a fiery crash on Interstate 78 on Thursday morning, wanted to see her husband's body, but due to the extent of the burns and injuries, the medical examiner said he was left unrecognizable.
Essam Fawaz, 52, of Middlesex borough, was killed in a fiery crash while driving a truck on I-78 on Thursday, July 14, 2016.Photo Courtesy of Fatama Mohmad

"(The medical examiner) said we wouldn't be able to get the graphic image out of our head," said Mohmad's 13-year-old daughter Gannat Moustafa, who was standing next to her mother at their home in Middlesex Borough.

Essam Fawaz, 52, a driver for Beltway Transportation Logistics, was killed while driving a tractor-trailer east on I-78 when it veered off the left side of the expressway and hit a bridge abutment. State police had said a preliminary investigation showed a possible blowout of one of Fawaz's tires, which may have contributed to the crash.

The investigation remains ongoing.

It was mid-afternoon on Friday and Mohmad and Moustafa had just arrived back at their home at an apartment complex off Warrenville Road. Mohmad, dressed in a black abaya, was quiet and somber.

With Moustafa helping to translate, Mohmad, who is Egyptian, said she was doing OK, but that it had been a difficult time for her and her daughter.

Police found Mohmad at her job on Thursday and informed her that her husband had died in the crash.
Pictured left, Gannat Moustafa, 13, and her mother, Fatama Mohmad, of Middlesex borough, in the living room of their home on Warrenville Road, on Friday, July 15, 2016. Mohmad's husband was killed in a crash on I-78 on Thursday.Spencer Kent | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

"She fainted and it took her 30 minutes to wake up," Moustafa said. "Someone from work drove her here."

Mohmad said police told her that Fawaz died instantly from the impact. He had been partially ejected and burned from a gasoline leak caused by the crash.

With most of her family in Egypt, only she and her daughter remain. The two are concerned about paying bills, as Moustafa said her mother doesn't make enough money at her job at the moment.

A GoFundMe page has been created to help raise money for the family.

2 found alive in the ocean by the coast guard after the twin-engine Piper PA23 was ditched northwest of Kona


2 found safe in ocean off Hawaii after plane disappears from radar







The U.S. Coast Guard rescued two people after their plane disappeared from radar. (U.S. Coast Guard)

Saturday, July 16, 2016 07:53AM
HONOLULU -- The Coast Guard rescued a man and woman in the ocean off Hawaii on Friday, nearly a day after the plane they were in disappeared from radar.

"What a way to celebrate aloha Friday," Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer 2nd Class Tara Molle said of the relief in finding the two alive. "We all had big smiles on our faces in the office when we heard the news."

A helicopter crew hoisted them out of the water about 11:30 a.m. Friday, Molle said. They were a mile and a half offshore near Kona, the Coast Guard said.

Paramedics met them at Kona airport and treated them for minor injuries, Molle said. They were identified as David McMahon, 26, and Sydnie Uemoto, in her 20s.

There was no immediate word on the plane. The plane's pilot radioed about an air emergency at 3:15 p.m. Thursday. After that, air traffic controllers lost contact with the pilot and the plane no longer appeared on radar, the Coast Guard said.

The pilot of the twin-engine Piper PA23 reported engine problems before ditching in the ocean about 27 miles northwest of Kona, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The plane had departed from west Oahu and was headed for Kona, the FAA said.

On Friday morning, a visiting New Zealand air force P3 plane spotted debris about 50 miles northwest of Kona. The Coast Guard sent a ship to the scene to see if the debris was from the missing plane. The New Zealand plane is in Hawaii to participate in the Rim of the Pacific military exercises. The U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force also joined in the search.

A tour helicopter later spotted wreckage about 9 miles north of Kona airport and reported it to the Coast Guard, Molle said. A Coast Guard helicopter went to the wreckage location and spotted two people in the water wearing life jackets, she said.

"They had been attempting to swim to shore through the night," Molle said.

It's not yet clear what happened to them.

"A lot of times these cases don't really end well," Molle said. "When we have a happy ending, what more could you ask for?"

McMahon's father, Richard McMahon, summed up his feelings: "Big-time relieved." He said he was on his way from Oahu to the Big Island on Friday to see his son, a Kailua, Oahu, resident and a commercial pilot for Mokulele Airlines. He said his son rented a plane for additional flying hours for his commercial pilot's license.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. 



=========================




Responders rescue 2 pilots from downed small plane off Kona, Hawaii
Jul 15th, 2016 · 0 Comment


Coast Guard and Hawaii Fire Department personnel stand with the mother of Sidney Uemoto following her daughter’s rescue nine miles off Kona, Hawaii, July 15, 2016. U.S. Coast Guard photo

HONOLULU — Survivors of a downed small plane were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard off Kona, Frday, following a joint search involving the U.S. Navy, Royal New Zealand air force, U.S. Air Force and Coast Guard crews.

An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew hoisted the survivors at 11:35 a.m. about nine miles north of the Kona airport, a mile and half offshore. They were flown to the airport where they were met by awaiting emergency medical crews and treated for minor injuries.

A commercial helicopter flying along the Kona coast sighted a debris field and reported it to the Coast Guard. One of the Dolphin crews was diverted to investigate and sighted the survivors. They vectored in a second Dolphin crew with a rescue swimmer aboard to conduct the hoist. The survivors were both wearing lifejackets and were swimming toward shore at the time.

Involved in the search were:
– HC-130 Hercules airplane crews and MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crews from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point
– A Navy MH-60R helicopter crew from the USS Chung Hoon (DDG-93) and the crew of the ship
– The Coast Guard Cutter Galveston Island (WPB-1349)
– A Royal New Zealand Air Force P3K2 Orion airplane crew
– HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from the US Air Force 353rd Special Operations Group from Kadena Air Base, Japan

At 3:15 p.m. watchstanders at the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Honolulu received notification from Honolulu control facility personnel that the pilot of a dual engine aircraft with two people aboard radioed them reporting and in air emergency. The tower confirmed they then lost contact with the pilot and the plane no longer appeared on radar.

The plane was reportedly traveling to Kona from Oahu, not Maui as previously reported, with the last known position approximately 25 miles northwest of Kona. A Navy P3 Orion airplane was on approach to Kona and overheard the pilot’s call to the tower. The Orion crew initially diverted to investigate the report, but is not involved in the search.

Watchstanders immediately issued an urgent marine information broadcast advising mariners in the area to keep a sharp lookout and report any sightings to JRCC. They also directed the launch of assets to respond.

The Chung Hoon is homeported in Pearl Harbor. The Galveston Island is homeported in Honolulu. The Chung Hoon, Royal New Zealand air force and U.S. Air Force HC-130 are participating in RIMPAC 2016.

1 killed, 2 injured after SUV failed to stop at a stoplight and collided with the postal truck on West Side in Chicago





  JULY 16, 2016

Police said the failed to stop at a stoplight and hit the postal truck.

Updated 2 hrs 19 mins ago
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago police are investigating a fatal accident involving an SUV and a postal truck in the West Garfield Park neighborhood.

One man who was a passenger in the SUV was killed in the crash in the 3800 block of West Congress at 3:20 a.m., police said. The drivers of both vehicles were taken to Stroger Hospital in unknown condition.

Police said the SUV failed to stop at a stoplight and collided with the postal truck.

DRUNK NYPD OFFICER NICOLAS BADKA, 28, KILLS ONE PEDESTRIAN, INJURES 3 OTHERS IN WILLIAMSBURG, IN BROOKLYN, NYC




Marcus Solis reporting live

Eyewitness News
Updated 1 hr 8 mins ago
WILLIAMSBURG, Brooklyn (WABC) -- One person is dead and three other pedestrians were injured after an SUV driven by an off-duty police officer jumped a curb Saturday.

According to the New York City Police Department, a silver Dodge Durango struck a group of people around 3:15 a.m. on Bedford Avenue and North Eighth Street.

One person was impaled on a wrought iron fence; a woman's leg was seriously injured.

The driver, off-duty NYPD officer Nicolas Badka, 28, is under arrest and suspended. He is charged with DWI, but additional charges are expected. Badka is assigned to the Manhattan Transit Task Force.

He was appointed last year. According to the NYPD, Badka refused a breath test at the scene.

Police said the driver was taken, along with the three surviving victims, to Cornell hospital.

Further charges in the case are pending.

1 tree worker electrocuted to death and another worker was injured while trimming trees in Piney Flats in TN





One person electrocuted, one injured in tree trimming incident in Piney Flats

  By News Channel 11 Staff Published: July 15, 2016, 1:48 pm Updated: July 15, 2016, 5:44 pm

SULLIVAN COUNTY, TN (WJHL) – Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office officials confirmed one person was electrocuted and was person was injured while working with a private landscaping company Friday.

According to Capt. Andy Seabolt, the incident happened in the 1,000 block of Haw Ridge Road in Piney Flats just after 12:30 p.m.

The sheriff’s office said workers for a private company were trimming trees for a homeowner when an employee made contact with a live electrical line.

According to the release, the employee who made contact with the line was killed and another employee received minor injuries.

The sheriff’s office is calling the incident an accidental electrocution.

Johnson City Power Board crews responded to the scene, along with Sullivan County EMS and Piney Flats Volunteer Fire Department.

Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) said they have an inspector on the way.

Copyright 2016 WJHL. All rights reserved.

OSHA fined Materion Brush Inc. after an employee operating a machine coiler suffered a hand injury at the Elmore, Ohio plant






OSHA fines Materion $70,000 after worker injured
STAFF REPORT 4:32 p.m. EDT July 15, 2016



ELMORE, OHIO - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed a $70,000 fine for Materion Brush Inc. after an employee operating a machine coiler suffered a hand injury at the Elmore plant in March.

OSHA cited a "willful" workplace safety violation for failing to ensure the machine had adequate safety guards.

In the March 3 accident, the employee's right hand got caught in a machine pinchpoint, resulting in three fingers being fractured.

"OSHA has specific guidelines to protect workers from dangerous machinery, chemicals and other hazards in the workplace," said Kim Nelson, OSHA's area director in Toledo. "Materion needs to re-evaluate its safety and health programs to ensure employees are being protected from job hazards."

Materion Brush "did not ensure the coiler on the edge trim line was properly guarded, exposing employees to an in-going nip point created between the rotating coil and the metal strip," OSHA said after investigating the accident.

Materion Brush, formerly known as Brush Wellman, is a subsidary of Materion Corp. of Mayfield Heights, Ohio, which makes advanced material solutions and services for industrial customers in 50 nations.

The fine was proposed Thursday and Materion Brush has 15 days to accept the fine or request a hearing with OSHA.

Worker is critical, after he was electrocuted while making air-conditioning units repairs on the roof of the Best Buy at the Arundel Mills Malls in MD





Worker injured by electric shock in Hanover
Man, 43, making repairs on roof of Best Buy at Arundel Mills Mall
Published 2:47 PM EDT Jul 15, 2016


HANOVER, Md. —A worker who was on the roof of a store at the Arundel Mills Malls was critically injured when he received an electric shock, officials said.



Anne Arundel County fire officials said a worker making air-conditioning units repairs on the roof of the Best Buy received an electric shock.

Paramedics and firefighters were called around 1:20 p.m. to the 7000 block of Arundel Mills Circle, in Hanover.

Officials said the 40-year-old worker was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center with critical and potentially life-threatening injuries.

Maryland Occupational Safety and Health is involved in the investigation.

Dump Truck Driver, 3 injured Killed in Rollover on I-495 in Littleton, Mass.


By Mike Pescaro

 JULY 15, 2016

A dump truck driver was killed in a rollover crash involving four vehicles Friday on a Massachusetts highway, is identified.

Massachusetts State Police report that the driver of the truck was Nelson Umanzor, 38, of East Boston.

The crash took place around 3:40 p.m. on I-495 northbound in Littleton.

State police say a dump truck carrying ground-up pavement and a Kia rolled over in the crash. The truck's driver, a 38-year-old East Boston man, was pronounced dead on the scene.

The driver and passenger of the Kia were taken to Emerson Hospital for minor injuries, as well as the driver of a Toyota that was involved.

A Lexus was also involved in the crash. That car's driver was taken to Lowell General Hospital with minor injuries.

The cause of this crash remains under investigation and no charges have been filed at this time.

Speeding driver died, passenger injured after losing control of his car, hitting a tree, and crashing into a light pole in Fulerton, CA











  Battalion Chief Jamie Newton directs the work near Gilbert Street and Hughes Drive in Fullerton on Friday. The driver of a Saturn sedan lost control of his vehicle and hit a tree before wrapping it around a light pole.KEN STEINHARDT, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
By JOSHUA SUDOCK and KEN STEINHARDT / STAFF WRITERS

Driver dies after hitting a tree and light pole in Fullerton


July 15, 2016

Updated 3:11 p.m


 FULLERTON, CA – A 26-year-old man died after losing control of his car, hitting a tree, and wrapping the Saturn around a light pole Friday morning, authorities said.

Firefighters cut the driver out of his car. He was taken to UCI Medical Center, where he died. A 22-year-old female passenger was treated for moderate injuries and taken to a hospital.

“Excessive speed is a likely cause based on what we have so far,” police Sgt. Chris Wren said.

The Saturn was traveling southbound on Gilbert Street, just before Hughes Drive, shortly before 7:30 a.m., police Sgt. Jon Radus said.

No other vehicles were involved.

The intersection of Gilbert Street and Hughes Drive was shut down while rescuers treated the victims. Traffic delays in the area were expected as investigators worked at the scene.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the Fullerton Police Department traffic bureau at 714-738-5313 or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS.

Liberian Ship Management Company, Corporate Vessel Owner, and Three Engineering Officers Indicted for Environmental Crimes and Conspiracy


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 15, 2016
Liberian Ship Management Company, Corporate Vessel Owner, and Three Engineering Officers Indicted for Environmental Crimes and Conspiracy


Charges Also Include Obstruction and Falsification of Records

A federal grand jury in Charleston, South Carolina, returned an indictment today charging Aegean Shipping Management S.A. and Aegeansun Gamma Inc. with obstruction of an agency proceeding, conspiracy and failing to keep accurate pollution control records, the Justice Department announced. Three engineering officers were charged with related offenses.

The charges stem from the 2015 falsification of records and obstruction designed to cover up overboard discharges of oily mixtures and machinery space bilge water from the Liberian-flagged chemical tanker, T/V Green Sky. The vessel’s management company, Aegean Shipping Management of Liberia and the vessel’s owner, Aegeansun Gamma of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, are charged with failing to maintain an accurate oil record book as required by the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), a U.S. law which implements the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, commonly known as “MARPOL.” The companies were also charged with falsification of records, obstruction and conspiracy.

The individuals, Panagiotis Koutoukakis and Herbert Julian, both former Chief Engineers of the T/V Green Sky and Nikolaos Bounovas, the former Second Engineer onboard the vessel, were charged with aiding and abetting the failure to maintain an accurate oil record book, falsification of federal records and conspiracy. Julian is facing an additional obstruction charge.

The investigation into illegal activity onboard the vessel began in late August 2015 when the vessel arrived in the Port of North Charleston, South Carolina and members of the engine room staff told the U.S. Coast Guard that they had been ordered to bypass the ship’s oil water separator on multiple occasions. In a related case, on Feb. 18, the former captain of the T/V Green Sky, Genaro Anciano, pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction for knowingly making false and misleading oral and written statements in an effort to impede the Coast Guard’s investigation of the bypass allegations.

The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned in Charleston on July 26. An indictment is merely an accusation and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

The case was investigated by agents of the Coast Guard Investigative Service. The case is being prosecuted by Christopher Hale of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Austin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina. 



=================================







A Filipino citizen and the captain of the tanker ship, T/V Green Sky, pleaded guilty on Thursday (Feb 18) to one felony count in federal court in Charleston, South Carolina, for obstructing a U.S. Coast Guard investigation into pollution crimes aboard the vessel.



MT Tanker Green Sky Image: lappino / shipspotting

Genaro Anciano, 52, who was the highest ranking officer aboard the ship, pleaded guilty to one count of Obstruction of an Agency Proceeding. The charge stems from a Coast Guard investigation in late August 2015 into the bypass of pollution prevention equipment, including the use of a “magic device,” on the Green Sky. In court papers, the defendant stated that members of the ship’s engine room, including a senior officer, admitted to illegally discharging overboard. These admissions occurred prior to the August 2015 Coast Guard inspection at the Port of North Charleston. During the investigation, Anciano made several false and misleading statements to the Coast Guard to cover up the illegal conduct.


The T/V Green Sky is a 30,263 gross ton, ocean-going vessel that operates as a petroleum and chemical tanker. The vessel is approximately 600 feet in length and is registered in Liberia. The vessel is owned by an entity incorporated in the Marshall Islands. Over the course of several days, the normal operation of the Green Sky generates thousands of gallons of bilge wastes that are contaminated with petroleum products and oil residues. These bilge wastes must be removed for the vessel to operate safely.

Both the United States and Liberia are parties to the MARPOL treaty, which regulates the overboard discharge of bilge waste. It was prohibited to discharge bilge wastes from the T/V Green Sky without first running that effluent through the ship’s oily water separator. According to the MARPOL treaty, all overboard discharges from the vessel’s bilges had to be recorded in the T/V Green Sky’s oil record book. A bypass of the oily water separator, which is not recorded in the oil record book, jeopardizes the accuracy and integrity of that document. It is a separate federal crime for oceangoing vessels to enter a U.S. port with a false oil record book.

Anciano’s sentencing has not been scheduled.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service with assistance from inspectors from Sector Charleston as well as Legal from U.S. Coast Guard in Miami. The case is being prosecuted by Christopher L. Hale of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Austin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina in Charleston.

Source: justice.gov