Newsroom
All News Releases By Date
Ship's Engineer Pleads Guilty in Oregon on Charges of Making False Statements Regarding Oil Discharge
Release Date: 11/07/2002
Contact Information:
Teresa Libera 202-564-7873/libera.teresa@epa.gov
(11/07/02) Duk Jo Jeong of Korea, first engineer of the Motor Vessel Cygnus, pleaded guilty on Oct. 25 to making a false statement to the U.S. Coast Guard concerning the ship’s illegal discharge of oily waste into the Pacific Ocean. The defendant, who pleaded in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon in Portland, already had spent six months under house arrest awaiting trial. He was immediately sentenced to two years probation and will be deported from the United States. The Cygnus, which brings automobiles to the United States, is owned by Feng Lee Maritime Corp. of Panama City and is operated by Fujitrans Corp. of Japan. The discharge of oil into the ocean can be harmful to aquatic life. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Coast Guard, the FBI and the Washington State Department of Ecology. It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Portland and the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.
Search this collection of releases | or search all news releases
View selected historical press releases from 1970 to 1998 in the EPA History website.
