A ship’s captain recently pled guilty to charges he obstructed justice by advising crew members to destroy and conceal from U.S. Coast Guard inspectors incriminating faxes relating to the use of a bypass pipe.
Ioannis Kallikis of Athens, Greece, captain of the motor vessel Katerina, pled guilty to the charges on Feb. 16 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles.
The bypass pipe had been used to illegally discharge oil into the Pacific Ocean, endangering fish and other aquatic life.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office, the Coast Guard's Investigative Service and the Los Angeles office of EPA's Criminal Investigation Division.
It is being prosecuted by the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles.
Source: EPA
