The master of a UAE-owned product tanker (PS Dream), Abdurrahman Korkmaz, has pleaded guilty to obstruction and violating ship pollution prevention laws in a Louisiana court.
The criminal case against both the master and the shipping companies stems from the report of a crewmember who two weeks before the vessel reached New Orleans, reported the incident to the U.S. Coast Guard. This individual and another crewmember blew the whistle and provided evidence, including photos and videos showing oil being pumped overboard and trailing behind the tanker to the Coast Guard. The crew-supplied evidence was presented in court as a key part of the prosecution.
Korkmaz faces up to six years in prison and a $250,000 fine for his role in ordering the dumping of oil-contaminated waste into the ocean during the voyage to New Orleans.
According to documents and statements filed in court, Korkmaz ordered his crew to pump overboard from the residual oil tank which contained oily waste. A portable pump placed inside the tank and connected to a long flexible hose was used to discharge directly into the ocean without any required pollution prevention equipment or monitoring. The waste oil, including sludge, originated in the engine room and had been improperly transferred into the residual oil tank on the deck of the ship by a prior crew.
Korkmaz was the captain of the PS Dream, a Panama-flagged product tanker (51,233 dwt). The PS Dream arrived in New Orleans on January 26, 2023
The tanker’s owners, Prive Shipping and Prive Shipping Denizcilik Ticaret, also pleaded guilty and agreed to pay a $2 million fine, including a $500,000 contribution to maritime environmental projects in Louisiana.
The prosecution marks a major victory in the effort to prevent pollution from ships and highlights the importance of whistleblowers in bringing environmental offenders to justice.