Oct 25 2026 353 pm CDT

The failure to comply with marine pollution laws and merchant marine licensing requirements can't be tolerated by the maritime industry or the citizens of the United States. Ensuring the safety of our fellow mariners and protecting the marine environment are cornerstones of the Coast Guard's mission. This case clearly demonstrates the Coast Guard's commitment to work with our interagency partners to aggressively enforce maritime anti-pollution and safety laws, and provides a testament to the dedication of all persons who were involved in resolving this matter - including the Coast Guard Investigative Service, the U. S. Department of Justice, and the U. S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

- Rear Admiral Mary Landry, Eighth District Coast Guard Commander

The Defendants in this case are four: a marine towing company and its owner; the Captain in-charge of the tugboat, and an unlicensed employee. On July 23, 2008, a collision occurred in the Mississippi River near downtown New Orleans, with a significant oil spill. The river was closed, including raw water intakes supplying drinking water for New Orleans. An investigation followed, leading to CWA charges of negligence and obstruction of justice.

In the wee hours of Wednesday, July 23, 2008, the tug "Mel Oliver" pushed a barge loaded with biodiesel into the path of M/T "Tintomara", a 600-foot tanker ship sailing under the flag of Liberia. An estimated 282,686 thousand gallons of oil was spilled, resulting in closure of the river and its drinking water intakes from Mile 99 south to the Gulf. Four Parishes were forced to access alternate drinking water supplies, including Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes.

Dodging safety rules to save money
Investigators found unsafe and illegal staffing practices by the Defendant LLC, the tugboat owner. The Defendant routinely understaffed its tugboats. Coast Guard requires a licensed Pilot in charge of the vessel at all times, however, no individual may be scheduled more than 12 hours in a 24 hour period. The individual, owner-Defendant admitted to deleting corporate payroll records in an attempt to hide the staffing safety infractions. Just one qualified Captain was paid for the period in question. The Defendant admitted, the operation of Mel Oliver was left in the hands of an unlicensed deck hand on the night of the collision.

Sentencing in this case included a period of imprisonment for the owner-Defendant with additional two years supervised release and a federal fine. The corporate Defendant was sentenced to $200,000 federal fine and 2 yrs probation. The Captain in-charge was convicted of one Port and Waterways Safety Act violation, sentenced to a term of probation. The deck hand piloting the tug during the collision was convicted on two counts, CWA and Ports and Waterways Safety Act violations.

Prison time (co-owner): 21 months with Supervised Release: 24 months and $50,000 fine; Federal fines: total $250,000; Probation: total 60 months.

This case was investigated by the US Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division and the United States Coast Guard Criminal Investigative Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dorothy Manning Taylor with sentencing determined by U.S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle.

The corporate Defendant pled guilty to the CWA violation, negligent discharge of oil to waters of the USA. The Defendant admitted to "creating hazardous conditions by (1) assigning employees without proper USCG licenses to operate certain vessels thereby causing these vessels to operate in the navigable waters of the United States with manning levels below those determined by the USCG to be necessary for safe navigation, and (2) paying licensed captains to operate a vessel for 24 hour a day without a relief captain, knowing that the Coast Guard viewed the use of over-fatigued mariners operating tugboats and barges to be a hazardous condition that would not allow for safe operation of the vessel. "

See last week's CrimeBox here, "Employees trimmed expenses by doctoring produced wastewater samples. A million dollar penalty ensued for illegal dumping of oil and grease into the Gulf"

CrimeBox briefs are compiled from EPA Criminal Enforcement records.

https://wtla.us/viewarticle.asp?article=1271

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