WASHINGTON (AP) — January 11, 2013 — A New Zealand fishing company has been ordered to pay $2.4 million and sentenced to three years of probation for dumping oil waste into U.S. waters off American Samoa. The chief engineer on the company’s ship faces a month in prison for falsifying records in an effort to cover up the dumping.
U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell imposed the penalties on Friday, directing Sanford Ltd. to pay a $1.9 criminal fine and to make a $500,000 community service payment to National Marine Sanctuaries, trustee for the nation’s system of marine protected areas. During the probationary period, Sanford is banned from fishing in U.S. waters unless it petitions the court and shows compliance with an environmental compliance program.
A federal jury returned guilty verdicts in a trial last summer against Sanford and the chief engineer, James Pogue. Pogue also was sentenced to 150 days of home confinement and two years of supervised release.
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