Ship engineers sentenced for interfering with inspection at Wilmington Port

WASHINGTON (WWAY) – Two engineers from the Philippines will spend time in prison for interfering with a U.S. Coast Guard inspection at the Port of Wilmington.

A judge sentenced Cassius Samson, 52, to 12 months in prison and Rustico Ignacio, 66, to 9 months in prison.

Ignacio was the chief engineer and Samson the second engineer of the Ocean Hope. In September, both were convicted of conspiracy, violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, obstruction of justice and witness tampering, by a federal jury in Greenville. Ignacio and Samson attempted to cover up the dumping of tons of oil sludge and machinery space bilge water into the ocean before the ship arrived in the United States.

Several crew members testified that Samson regularly ordered, with Ignacio’s approval, the pumping of oily wastes into the ocean over a period of months.

When the cargo ship  arrived at the Port of Wilmington, the engineers ordered subordinates to lie to Coast Guard inspectors and to cover up evidence. Chief Engineer Ignacio presented inspectors with a doctored oil record book.

“These crew members egregiously violated U.S. and international pollution laws, obstructed justice and spoiled the marine waters upon which our planet and its marine life depend,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden of the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This case shows that polluting the ocean with oily waste and sludge will land you in jail, and that we will aggressively prosecute these serious crimes.”

Also convicted at trial were Oceanic Illsabe Limited, the owner of the Ocean Hope, and Oceanfleet Shipping Limited, its managing operator. Both shipping companies are based out of Greece. Sentencing of the corporate defendants is scheduled for early January.