A SPANISH ship management company has agreed to pay a $2.5 million fine after pleading guilty to charges that one of its vessels discharged oil-contaminated bilge waste into the ocean.
Madrid-based Consultores de Navegacion pleaded guilty in a U.S. District Court this week to a variety of charges, including violating maritime pollution laws.
Prosecutors say that between June 2007 and March 2008, engineers on the M/T Nautilus used a pipe to bypass the ship's Oil Water Separator and discharge oil-contaminated waste directly into the ocean.
Under terms of the agreement, Consultores will serve three years of probation and be required to implement an environmental compliance plan for its vessels.
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