Tailwinds

Diana Shipping Inc., a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels, announced that it has signed, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, a Memorandum of Agreement to sell to an unaffiliated third party, the 2004-built vessel “Thetis”, with delivery to the buyer latest by July 31, 2019, for a sale price of US$6.4 million before commissions.

A federal judge fined the corporate owner of the "Thetis" with $1.1 million on Dec 5, 2013, for violating numerous pollution control requirements. The Diana Shipping Services also was placed on probation for a term of three years, six months. A court-appointed monitor was assigned to keep an eye on the company’s business practices. Ioannis Prokakis, the ship’s chief engineer, and Antonios Boumpoutelos, the second assistant engineer, were also sentenced to one year probation. The company, Prokakis, and Boumpoutelos were convicted in August following an 11 day bench trial in U.S. District Court in Norfolk. Among other things, they were convicted of conspiracy, failing to properly maintain an oil record book and falsifying records. According to prosecutors, a ship’s bilge water is supposed to be disposed of at an onshore waste reception facility or put overboard after using an oil water separator. Sludge must be taken to a waste reception facility or burned in the ship’s incinerator. U.S. District Court Judge Mark S. Davis ruled the Thetis crew discharged the oily bilge waste directly into the sea using a device commonly referred to as a “magic pipe.” Prosecutors argued for the company to pay a $4.4 million fine and to make a $1.1 million donation to a charity dedicated to helping oceans. Defense attorneys argued for a $400,000 fine.

A Panamanian corporation and two Greek citizens have been convicted in Virginia of charges related to the illegal discharge of contaminated waste water from a cargo vessel. Diana Shipping Services S.A. was convicted of obstruction of justice on Thursday following a 12-day trial in U.S. District Court in Norfolk. Ioannis Prokakis and Antonios Boumpoutelos were convicted of falsifying records and a knowing failure to fully maintain an oil record book, among other things. According to court records, the M/V Thetis discharged its bilge waste and sludge illegally in 2012 with a pipe that bypassed the oily water separator. The company faces a maximum fine of $5.5 million. Sentencing is scheduled for November. http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/38b513e11d93491c84be1926786e180a/VA--Ship-Pollution