Captain Receives Eight-Month U.S. Prison Term for MARPOL Violation

The master of a product tanker who committed a MARPOL violation and then attempted to conceal information from the U.S. Coast Guard was recently sentenced to eight months in a U.S. prison by a federal court in New Orleans. Yesterday, the court completed the case accepting a guilty plea from the vessel’s operators and ordering them to pay a $2 million fine and four years probation.

The charges pertain to the investigation of the Panama-flagged tanker P/S Dream which was operated by Prive Overseas Marine and Prive Shipping Denizcilik Ticaret. One of the crewmembers working aboard the vessel alerted the Coast Guard and shared videos of the vessel illegally discharging waste oil and the resulting oil sheen. When the ship arrived in Louisiana, another crew member came forward and gave the Coast Guard a recording of an officer discussing the discharge.

Captain Abdurrahman Korkmaz, a Turkish national, pled guilty to the charges in June 2024. Prosecutors charged that the captain ordered the crew to pump oil-contaminated waste overboard and clean the vessel’s tank with soap while it was heading to New Orleans in January 2023. The crewmembers rigged a portable pump to empty the contents overboard over three days, but also took pictures to document the offense and gave the information to the USCG inspectors. It became the centerpiece of the case.

Further, they showed that the master was in contact with the company offices and reviewed the work underway on the vessel including sending them pictures of the efforts to clean up the appearance of the vessel. They showed that corporate representatives at Prive Shipping were aware that the oil-contaminated waste remained in the tank and were informed by the ship’s master that it had been dumped overboard. 

After completing the discharge, they charged that the defendants falsified the vessel’s oil record book by omitting the discharge. The falsified logs, presented to the Coast Guard during its inspection, were intended to conceal the fact that the crew had dumped oil-contaminated waste overboard in violation of the MARPOL international treaty regulating oil pollution from ships. 

The companies pleaded guilty in May to charges of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.  During the court hearing on September 26, the two corporations were sentenced yesterday to pay a $2 million criminal penalty and complete four years of probation. The $2 million criminal penalty includes $500,000 in organizational community service payments that will fund various maritime environmental projects in the Eastern District of Louisiana. Those projects will be managed by the congressionally established National Fish & Wildlife Foundation.

Prive Overseas Marine is based in Dubai and Prive Shipping is headquartered in Turkey. As a condition of probation, the corporations must also adhere to an environmental compliance plan mandating audit, safety, and inspection requirements over the next four years.