The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has settled with French liner CMA CGM over claims of violations by four of the company’s ships involving ballast water discharge.
The EPA said that CMA CGM will pay a total fine of $165,000 in penalties for claims of violations by the CMA CGM A. Lincoln, CMA CGM T. Jefferson, CMA CGM Fidelio, and APL Columbus. According to the agency, the four ships got fines of $48,277, $48,233, $52,197 and $16,293, respectively.
Apart from ballast water discharge include record keeping, inspection, monitoring, and reporting. The violations were committed between 2017 and 2020.
The EPA claimed that the shipping giant failed to treat ballast water before discharging it in a manner consistent with the compliance deadline at US ports, including the Port of Los Angeles in California.
CMA CGM also did not conduct an annual calibration of a ballast water treatment system, nor did it sample and monitor discharges. The company also failed to report complete and accurate information in annual reports.
It is mandatory for commercial vessel owners and operators whose ships enter the ports and waterways of the US to comply with the Vessel General Permit program as well as file a notice of intent for discharges that are incidental to the normal operation of a vessel.
“The Vessel General Permit is a key element of the Clean Water Act. When companies and their ships don’t comply with this permit, the quality of our nation’s already-challenged waters can be seriously impacted,” said EPA Pacific Southwest regional administrator Martha Guzman.
“It’s incumbent upon vessel owners and operators to properly manage what they discharge into our oceans and to meet their monitoring and reporting requirements,” she added.