Firm admits ships dumped oil off Maine (pays record fine: $37 M)

[jpak]

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/local/061220tanker.html

The owner of one of the world's largest fleets of oil tankers, including some that frequent Portland Harbor, pleaded guilty Tuesday to repeatedly dumping waste oil into the ocean off the coast of Maine and several other states.

Overseas Shipholding Group agreed to pay a record $37 million fine for dumping and logbook violations involving 12 of its tankers between 2001 and 2005. More than $2 million of the penalty will go into a fund for environmental projects in Maine as compensation for the damage, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Portland.

The U.S. Department of Justice and Massachusetts Attorney General's Office announced the plea agreement Tuesday morning in Boston.

"OSG has engaged in repeated and deliberate pollution of our oceans," said Acting Massachusetts Associate Attorney General William Mercer.

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[FormerDittoHead]

1. But don't you see? We ALL pay that! They shouldn't penalize corporations for their public service!

:sarcasm:

$37M = pocket change, cost of doing business, not worth changing the way things are done.

[hatrack]

2. Don't worry, they'll appeal it and wear the Feds down

This will go on for years.

[Ezlivin]

3. Cost to properly dispose of the oil: $50 million - hence they save millions

I don't really know the cost of proper disposal, but it seems that lately businesses have figured out that it's better to just pay the fine than to do things right.

If the fine is cheaper than the cost of proper operation, what company is going to truly take the moral high ground at the expense of its bottom line?

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Exactly!