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Officer Of Ship That Dumped Waste To Plead Guilty To Charges
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Published: February 16, 2009
The chief officer of a Korean cargo ship that dumped oily waste into the ocean has agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges that he concealed the polluting in ship records.
Jeong Gyu Lee signed an agreement to plead guilty to charges of failure to maintain an oil record book and making false statements, charges that carry up to six and five years in federal prison, along with potential fines.
According to the plea agreement, Lee was chief officer aboard the 24-ton Korean vessel Ocean Jade on Sept. 27 when it discharged oily waste from the ship's four cranes into the ocean. Lee knew the waste should be collected in drums and processed through the ship's pollution prevention equipment or disposed of at a shore facility.
The Ocean Jade berthed at the Port of Tampa on Oct. 7, when U.S. Coast Guard inspectors questioned the crew. Lee told four of his subordinates to lie to the inspectors, and three did, the plea agreement states. Lee also lied.
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