US jails chief engineer 6 months for dumping oily waste at sea

THE chief engineer of a tanker has been sentenced to six months in jail after charges were made by the US Justice Department for obstructing an investigation into the discharge of oily waste at sea.

Dimitrios Grifakis, 57, of Kallithea, Greece, was sentenced by a district court Baltimore after which he must live under supervised release for two years, for obstructing a coast guard inspection that took place in May 2010 aboard the Liberian cargo ship Capitola at the Port of Baltimore.


It said that Mr Grifaki pleaded guilty and that the investigation had been launched after a crew member informed a "clergy member", who was onboard the tanker on a pastoral visit, that there had been "monkey business in the engine room," which involved a "magic pipe." The "magic pipe" proved to be a bypass hose that allowed the dumping of waste oil overboard, circumventing pollution prevention equipment required by law. The crew member asked the minister to alert the coast guard, which triggered an inspection of the Capitola.


The report added that at his plea hearing, Mr Grifakis admitted that from March 2009 until May 2010, he repeatedly ordered his subordinates to illegally pump oil-contaminated waste directly into the ocean, most commonly through the bypass pipe.