Ship's Engineer Pleads Guilty in Oregon on Charges of Making False Statements Regarding Oil Discharge

(11/07/02) Duk Jo Jeong of Korea, 1st 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 6 months under house arrest awaiting trial. He was immediately sentenced to 2 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 Corporation of Panama City and is operated by Fujitrans Corporation 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.

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