A Turkish national who ordered his crew to illegally discharge oily waste from an oceangoing tanker and then tried to hide it from U.S. authorities has been sentenced to eight months in prison.
Capt. Abdurrahman Korkmaz, 37, pleaded guilty in June 2024 to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships after ordering crew to discharge the oily waste into the ocean from the 600-foot PS Dream. He also pleaded guilty to a second count related to falsifying logs to cover up the discharge.
Two corporations that operated the 600-foot ship, Prive Overseas Marine LLC and Prive Shipping, must pay a $2 million penalty and complete four years of probation, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Prive Overseas Marine is based in Dubai, while Prive Shipping is based in Turkey.
According to court documents, crew aboard PS Dream pumped at least 9,000 gallons of sludge and other waste oil from the engine room to a residual oil tank on the main deck sometime in late 2021. Crew would have had to manually pump this oily waste into the tank space, in violation of international regulations and the ship’s International Oil Pollution Prevention (IOPP) certificate.
Much of that oily waste was later discharged to a barge while the tanker was anchored in Turkey, however the tank remained contaminated with black oil.
Court documents show Korkmaz knew the waste oil transfer into the residual oil tank was not allowed by the IOPP certificate. He also knew the U.S. Coast Guard would board the ship in New Orleans, and that an independent marine surveyor would inspect the ship to ensure it met international standards.
Crew used a portable pump connected to a flexible yellow hose to discharge waste oil from the residual oil tank directly into the ocean during the voyage from Malaysia to New Orleans. The discharges occurred for roughly eight hours a day for three consecutive days starting on or about Jan. 11, 2023, court documents show. Documents did not identify the ship’s location during the discharges.
“On or about January 11-12, 2023, the chief officer texted the master a photograph of the yellow hose going overboard from the residual oil tank. The master inquired when it would be complete and stated the tank should be cleaned afterwards,” documents state.
The chief officer responded that they planned to clean the tank after the operation was complete. The master responded with a thumb’s-up emoji. Crew later used the firehose to blast seawater into the compartment to try to remove remaining oil. That water, too, was later discharged improperly.
“The January 2023 discharges of oil-contaminated waste were not recorded in PS Dream’s [oil record book] as defendants knew was required,” court documents said. “The omission in the required log was deliberate and part of a scheme to conceal the fact that the ship was engaged in illegal conduct.”
The U.S. Coast Guard first learned about the discharge from an unidentified whistleblower on the ship on Jan. 11, 2023. The crewmember said the ship was “doing bad things” and discharging fuel oil and possibly chemicals into the ocean. This person also supplied video and still images of the discharge and sheening on the surface. A second whistleblower later came forward.
PS Dream arrived at Magnolia Anchorage in New Orleans on Jan. 26, 2023, and Coast Guard inspectors boarded the ship for a port-state exam and compliance inspection. At this point, both whistleblowers identified themselves and asked to disembark out of concern for their safety.
Court documents indicate Korkmaz provided updates to company officials on the tank cleanup effort as it unfolded during the voyage. The parties apparently expressed concern on Jan. 24, 2023, before reaching New Orleans, that oil remained visible at the bottom of the tank. The parties also texted back and forth with increasing concern as Coast Guard personnel scrutinized the residual oil tank during the inspection.
“Defendants understood that revealing that engine room sludge had been pumped to a barge (in Turkey) would call attention to other records showing that engine room sludge had been improperly transferred into the residual oil tank in the first place,” documents indicate.
A crewing manager involved with the text conversation expressed “complete belief … we will pass through this without any problem.”
Coast Guard inspectors were not fooled. They noticed the recent use on bolts securing a cover for the residual oil tank. Upon opening the hatch, portable monitors carried by Coast Guard inspectors registered hydrogen sulfide, a gas associated with petroleum. After the gas cleared, the Coast Guard lowered a cup into the tank to collect a sample of the liquid, which later came back as residue of fuel and lube oils. Testing revealed similar substances in the yellow hose used to discharge the waste oil into the ocean.
Multiple crewmembers denied having knowledge of any discharge. Coast Guard inspectors, however, ultimately gathered enough evidence to prove the conspiracy to violate the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and the attempt to cover it up.
As part of the plea deal, the ship’s corporate managers also must abide by an environmental compliance plan with mandatory audit, safety and inspection requirements over the next four years, the Justice Department said.
The $2 million fine includes $500,000 in payments that will be made to community service efforts supporting maritime environmental projects in eastern Louisiana. The National Fish & Wildlife Foundation will oversee the effort.
It’s not clear when or where Korkmaz will serve his sentence. As of mid-October, he was not in the custody of the U.S. Board of Prisons. •