Owners Of Boat Detained In Duluth Harbor Face Pollution Charge
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The German company who owns the cargo ship that was detained in Duluth last winter is facing criminal charges.
The United States Attorney's Office has charged MST Mineralien Schiffahrt with one count of violation of the act to prevent pollution from ships.
They claim the company's vessel – the M/V Cornelia -- dumped oily waste into the Great Lakes on several occasions.
MST is also charged with eight counts of failing to keep accurate records of oil-contaminated waste disposal.
Court documents say the Cornelia was experiencing "significant leakages of oily waste water" between February and October of 2015. The ship's chief engineer and second engineer made crew members transfer oily bilge water to a tank meant to hold only clean water, which can be discharged overboard when needed.
Investigators say the discharge of oil-contaminated water occurred at least ten times, and each was not recorded by the chief engineer on purpose.
Inspectors from the U.S. Coast Guard examined the boat on Nov. 3, when the Cornelia was in the Port of Duluth to load grain to be transported to Africa.
They found problems with the ship's oil record book, and began an investigation that kept the boat in Duluth for more than a month.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency assisted the Coast Guard with the investigation.
