Miami Operator Fined $1 Million for Oil Spill Violations

A U.S. district judge in Miami on Friday fined a Miami River management company $1 million for recordkeeping violations related to oil pollution in ballast water.

Americas Marine Management Services, doing business as Antillean Marine and operator of the Panamanian-flag container ship Titan Express, was also given five years of probation on charges filed in May 2011.

Coast Guard inspectors found that chief engineer falsified the oil record book after the ship’s oil-water separator malfunctioned. Further examination revealed that the engineer had left night orders to pump oily bilge water overboard.

The company also failed to report its arrival in Miami to the National Ballast Information Clearinghouse, a project to prevent invasive species into U.S. waters. Half of the company’s fine will go to a non-profit organization for preservation and restoration of the marine ecosystem in South Florida.

Contact R.G. Edmonson at bedmonson@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobinWash.