Chandris Fined for Illegal Oil Dumping off Texas

Greek ship management company Chandris (Hellas) Inc. has been fined with USD 1 million for dumping oily waste into the waters off Texas and falsifying its oil record book.

The company pleaded guilty to violations of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships on Tuesday in Corpus Christi federal court, the Associated Press reports.

Chandris was ordered by the court to pay an USD 800,000 fine and a USD 200,000 community service payment to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.

In December, 2014, the chief engineer of the Chandris-operated M/V Sestrea —an 81,502 ton oil tanker— failed to document that the ship had dumped directly into the sea oily waste that should have been disposed through a separator aboard the vessel or burned in the ship’s incinerator, the AP reports.

The company has also been put on three years of probation.

Chandris (Hellas) Inc. specializes in the management and operation of tankers and bulk carriers from its Piraeus office. The vessels are owned by individual companies and are registered mostly under the Greek flag. Based on the information on the company’s website, Chandris has 23 ships under its management, ten bulkers and thirteen tankers.

World Maritime News Staff