WASHINGTON - Container shipper Evergreen International S.A. was ordered to pay a $25 million fine after pleading guilty to charges of concealing oil pollution, the US Department of Justice said on Monday.
As part of a plea deal with the US government, Evergreen agreed to the fine and pleaded guilty to 25 criminal charges for concealing the deliberate, illegal discharge of waste oil.
The $25 million will be divided among five judicial districts involved in the case. A total of $10 million of the fine will be directed to environmental community service projects, the Justice Department said.
In May 2001, the US Coast Guard discovered Evergreen was using bypass pipes aboard their ships to illegally discharge waste oil into the ocean without treating it in an oil-water separator. The discharge of oil and other toxic petroleum-related wastes can significantly harm marine life.
"Evergreen illegally discharged waste oil and then attempted to conceal its actions, thereby compounding its crimes," said Thomas Skinner of the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Coast Guard investigation showed that at least seven Evergreen ships regularly used bypass equipment to discharge oil waste and sludge oil and concealed the discharges in fictitious logs.
As part of probation, four related Evergreen companies -- Evergreen Marine (Taiwan), Evergreen America, Greencompass Marine, S.A. and Evergreen International S.A. -- will be bound by a detailed Environmental Compliance Plan to prevent future violations.
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