Chief Engineer Convicted for Obstruction of Justice and Oil Record Book Offenses; Operating Company Pleads Guilty to Oil Record Book Offense

NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – June 13, 2023

SAN DIEGO – Vessel Chief Engineer Denys Korotkiy was convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice, and failure to maintain an accurate oil record book for the vessel Donald following a five-day jury trial in San Diego.

The company that operates the vessel, Interunity Management (Deutschland) GMBH, previously pleaded guilty for maintaining false and incomplete records relating to the discharge of oily bilge water.   

The evidence showed that oily bilge water was illegally dumped from the Donald directly into the ocean through the vessel’s sewage holding tank without being properly processed through required pollution prevention equipment. Oily bilge water typically contains oil contamination from the operation and cleaning of machinery on the vessel. These illegal discharges were not recorded in the vessel’s Oil Record Book as required by law. The evidence also showed that Korotkiy made false and fictitious entries in the Oil Record Book claiming transfers of oily bilge had been made from the vessel’s engine room bilge wells to the vessel’s Bilge Holding Tank when, in fact, those transfers had not been made. Finally, the evidence showed that Korotkiy conspired with others to obstruct the United States Coast Guard’s inspection and investigation into the mishandling of oily bilge water onboard the motor vessel Donald.   

At the conclusion of the trial, the court remanded Chief Engineer Korotkiy to custody. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 1.

“Unlawful oil discharges can cause immeasurable harm to the marine environment,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “We will continue to work closely with our agency partners to safeguard our oceans by vigorous enforcement of environmental laws. Today’s case is a reflection of that commitment.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and the U.S. Coast Guard for their excellent work on this case.

“The illegal discharge of oily bilge water at sea and the falsification and destruction of records in order to obstruct the United States’ ability to investigate those discharges are crimes we take seriously,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work with our partner agencies to ensure polluters are held fully accountable.”

“This prosecution highlights the Department of Justice and the U.S. Coast Guard’s dedication in safeguarding our oceans against those that seek to deliberately harm our natural resources,” said Captain James Spitler, Sector Commander, Coast Guard Sector San Diego. “Illegal dumping of oil and falsification of oil record books are egregious violations. This guilty verdict should serve as a reminder that the Coast Guard and our partners at the Department of Justice will work tirelessly to hold accountable those that seek to deliberately discharge oil and falsify records.”

In the same matter, Interunity Management (Deutschland) GMBH pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, 33 U.S.C. § 1908(a), for failing to accurately maintain the Donald’s Oil Record Book. Under the terms of the plea agreement and subject to court approval, New Trade will pay a total fine of $1.25 million and serve a four-year term of probation, during which any vessels operated by the company and calling on U.S. ports will be required to implement a robust Environmental Compliance Plan. Chief Engineer Korotkiy will be sentenced on September 1, 2023, by the Court for his role.

The plea agreement for the company requires it to pay $312,500 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation as a community service payment, to be used to fund research at the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Preserve. 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Diego, and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanie K. Pierson of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California and Senior Trial Attorney Stephen Da Ponte of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice.

DEFENDANT                                               Case Number 22cr2762-TWR                          

Denys Korotkiy                                              Age: 40           Ukraine

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371

Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and $250,000 fine

Obstruction of Justice, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1519

Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine

Failure to Maintain an Accurate Oil Record Book, in violation of Title 33, United States Code, Section 1908(a)

Maximum penalty: Six years in prison and $500,000 fine

DEFENDANT

Interunity Management (Deutschland) GMBH

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Failure to Maintain an Accurate Oil Record Book, in violation of Title 33, United States Code, Section 1908(a)

Maximum penalty for a corporation: Five years of probation and a fine of $500,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Diego, Coast Guard Investigative Service