Nicos-I.v Vessel Reviews and Specifications

In a significant ruling, two Greek shipping firms, Avin International LTD and Nicos I.V. Special Maritime Enterprises, entered guilty pleas in federal court in Beaumont related to unlawful oil discharges from their vessel, the 'Nicos I.V.', on November 26, 2018. The announcement was disclosed by Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark, representing the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, along with U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown for the Eastern District of Texas.  Avin International operated the 'Nicos I.V.', a Greek-flagged ship owned by Nicos I.V. Special Maritime Enterprises. The master of the vessel, Rafail-Thomas Tsoumakos, alongside the chief officer, Alexios Thomopoulos, also admitted to providing false information to Coast Guard officials during the investigation regarding the oil discharges.  Both shipping companies faced multiple charges, including obstruction of an agency proceeding, failure to report the discharge of oil in violation of the Clean Water Act, and three counts of negligent discharge of oil under the same act. As a result of the plea agreement, the companies are required to pay a hefty fine of $4 million and will be subject to a four-year probation period, during which they must adhere to an environmental compliance strategy that includes audits by an independent evaluator.  In addition, Tsoumakos and Thomopoulos pleaded guilty to one count each of making material false statements and could face a maximum sentence of five years in prison, although a sentencing date is yet to be confirmed.  Court documents reveal that the 'Nicos I.V.' was equipped with a segregated ballast system, which is designed to control the ship's stability by regulating water within a series of tanks—a process that includes deballasting. Before July 6, 2017, oil contamination occurred within the ballast system, leading to two incidents of oil discharge into the Port of Houston during deballasting operations on July 6 and 7, 2017.  Both Tsoumakos and Thomopoulos were made aware of these oil spills, yet Tsoumakos failed to report the incidents as mandated by the Clean Water Act. Furthermore, these discharges were not documented in the ship's oil record book, violating MARPOL regulations and the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships. Following the vessel's departure from the Port of Houston, while en route to Port Arthur, crew members noted oil in several of the ballast tanks. Additional oil was observed bubbling beside the 'Nicos I.V.' upon arrival in Port Arthur, prompting a report to the U.S. Coast Guard.  During the follow-up investigation, both Tsoumakos and Thomopoulos provided misleading statements to the Coast Guard, claiming ignorance of the oil presence in the ballast system until after the discharge in Port Arthur. They also suggested that the oil had entered the ballast tanks when the vessel took on water in Port Arthur.  The U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service led the investigation, with support from the U.S. Coast Guard Sector MSU Port Arthur, which conducted the ship inspection. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Lauren Steele from the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Batte from the Eastern District of Texas.