Sea-La-Bamba

The company V.Ships Norway A.S. has pleaded guilty to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and will pay a $2 million fine after admitting to illegal discharges of oily bilge water and oily waste from the 'Swift Winchester', actually sailing as 'Sea La Bamba'. The company also acknowledged that these discharges were deliberately omitted from the vessel’s Oil Record Book. Between Feb 2022 and Aug 2022, crew members connected a hose between the incinerator waste oil tank and the sewage holding tank on the tanker, allowing oily waste to bypass required pollution prevention equipment and discharge directly into the sea. A low-ranking engine crew member reported the violations to a V.Ships Superintendent, who discovered oil in the sewage tank during an investigation. The company subsequently dismissed the Chief Engineer. In a separate incident in Aug 2022, a new Chief Engineer ordered the engine crew to clean the oil water separator filter. The crew took the filter onto the deck, hosed it down with degreaser, and allowed the oily waste to wash directly overboard through a scupper. The illegal activities were uncovered when the Marine Safety Unit Port Arthur of the U.S. Coast Guard carried out an inspection, during which an engine room crew member disclosed the discharges and provided photographic and video evidence. The 'Swift Winchester' entered Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Aug 25, 2022, and Port Arthur, Texas, on Sep 7, 2022, with a knowingly falsified Oil Record Book. The case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Port Arthur and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service. Prosecutors from the Environmental Crimes Section, Eastern District of Texas, and Middle District of Louisiana handled the case.

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