A US court fined a Turkish shipping company and its UAE-based partner $2 million and sentenced the companies to four years of probation after the crew of one of their ships dumped oil-contaminated waste into the ocean and tried to cover it up, United Press International (UPI) reported on Friday.
Prive Shipping Denizcilik Ticaret and its Dubai subsidiary, Prive Overseas Marine LLC, were sentenced by a New Orleans court on Thursday. Abdurrahman Korkmaz, the captain of their tanker, P/S Dream, was sentenced to eight months in prison earlier this month for obstruction and violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.
The charges stem from a January 2023 incident when Korkmaz allegedly ordered the crew to discharge oil waste into the Atlantic while en route to New Orleans. The Justice Department said the crew falsified records to hide the discharge. As part of the sentence, the companies must adhere to an environmental compliance plan.
Of the $2 million fine, $500,000 will be allocated to environmental preservation projects on Louisiana’s fragile coastline.