Crew Member Sentenced and Ship Owner Fined in "Magic Pipe" case

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland recently announced a six month sentence for a crew member who obstructed the investigation into a "magic pipe" case, and a $2.4 milliion dollar fine against the ship owner. The "magic pipe" was a bypass hose which permitted waste oil to be dumped directly overboard, the presence of which was concealed by doctored oil logs, which are requried by both U.S. law and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships.