The owner of a Maltese-registered bulk cargo ship has agreed to pay a $50,000 fine (about Lm16,000) and $100,000 (Lm32,000) in restitution in a case before the federal court in Oakland, the US.
According to a report in the US media, Twilight Marine Ltd of Malta pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour charge of negligent operation of a vessel - the mv Warrior - by allowing it to cross the Atlantic ocean with two large cracks that had been covered with tape and painted over.
When contacted by The Times, the Malta Maritime Authority (MMA) said the action of the shipmaster and the owners is under investigation by the Maltese authorities.
"This could lead to the ship being struck off the Maltese registry," MMA said.
According to a report carried in the San Francisco Chronicle website www.sfgate.com in September, the mv Warrior was crossing the Atlantic when sailors on board noticed several small cracks and rust holes in the starboard.
Instead of being welded, the cracks were allegedly covered with tape and painted over to blend in with the painting on the deck.
The ship arrived in San Francisco Bay on November 22, and US Coast Guard officers boarded the vessel for an inspection, during which they were not told of the cracks.
During proceedings in the federal court in Oakland, Twilight Marine admitted that the Ukrainian crew had operated the ship in a grossly negligent manner that endangered the life, limb and property of a person, the report said.
Apart from the $50,000 fine, the company agreed to pay $100,000 in restitution to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Northern Coastal California Restoration Fund.
When contacted by The Times to confirm the report, a representative of the MMA said that following port state and flag state control inspections held on the Maltese registered mv Warrior in November, deficiencies related to the hull of the ship were revealed.
"These deficiencies were eventually attended to under supervision of Lloyds Register of Shipping as the ship's class, according to instructions of the US Coast Guard as the port state control regime, and the Merchant Shipping Directorate of the Malta Maritime Authority as the flag administration.
"The mv Warrior was again the object of an intervention by the Maltese authorities after another inspection by MMA inspectors revealed further deficiencies".