In exchange for his plea, Singh will serve three years of probation and cooperate with any future probe of the wreck of the Malaysian-flagged Selendang Ayu.

Singh admitted to falsifying the ship log and deliberately reporting an inaccurate time for the engine shutdown that eventually led to the vessel's grounding. Some critics say the wreck might have been averted if he had called for help earlier.

"I accept the misstatements that were made and I sincerely apologize," Singh, an Indian citizen, told Beistline.

Singh's attorney, Michael Chalos, characterized the false statement as an isolated lapse in an otherwise spotless maritime career.

"I don't know if it was borne out of the fact that he was in shock, he was hypothermic, he had just seen six of his crew members go down," Chalos said.

The ship split in two off the west coast of Unalaska Island in the Aleutian island chain, spilling more than 320,000 gallons (1.2 million litres) of fuel oil and diesel and most of its cargo of some 60,000 tonnes (54.4 million kilograms) of soybeans.

Most crew members were evacuated shortly before the Dec. 8 grounding, but six died when a Coast Guard rescue helicopter was struck by a large wave and crashed.

Cleanup of the spilled oil from the ship was scheduled to resume in mid-April, officials said.

"I'd like to say we'll be finished this summer, but there's really no guarantee," said Gary Folley, response coordinator for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.