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The master of the Malaysian-flagged bulker Selendang Ayu, which broke up off
Alaska with the loss of six lives, has been sentenced by a US court to three
years probation for telling investigators the ship’s engine broke down two
hours early than was the case and instructing his crew to tell the same lie.
The incident, in which bunker fuel was spilled, is being described as
Alaska's worst oil spill since the 1989 grounding of the Exxon Valdez.
Kailash Singh pleaded guilty as part of deal with federal prosecutors. He
has also undertaken to co-operate with any further US investigation.
The master joins the ranks of merchant mariners facing criminal prosecution
after admitting he lied to the US National Transportation Safety Board.
The 1998-built, 72,937 dwt bulker, owned by IMC Group, spilt 335,000 gallons
of fuel in sensitive Alaskan waters after encountering cylinder problems in
its MAN B+W slow speed engine on December 6 last year while sailing from
Seattle to China.
The master and chief engineer shut the engines down in 30 ft seas trying to
fix the problem and, having failed, waited 13 hours before calling Dutch
Harbour to request repairs. |
