The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has indicted the owner and the captain of the commercial fishing vessel Native Sun for conspiracy and violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS).
According to the indictment, starting in 2011 and continuing into 2013, Bingham and Randall Fox discharged and ordered other crewmembers to illegally discharge oil and other pollutants into waters of the United States, coastal waters near Blaine, Washington, and the open ocean where the ship operated.
Bingham Fox, the owner of the vessel, ordered crew members to discharge oil and other bilge wastes overboard into the harbor and adjoining shorelines of Blaine as part of the ship’s dockside maintenance, while Bingham Fox’s son, Randall Fox, who served both as a crewmember and later as the captain aboard the Native Sun, ordered crewmembers to discharge oil and bilge wastes overboard while the vessel was underway on fishing trips.
The Native Sun had neither a CWA permit to discharge wastes nor the OWS equipment on-board, as required by APPS.
The maximum penalty for each count of violating the Clean Water Act is three years in prison and a fine of USD 250,000. Knowing violations of APPS are punishable by up to six years in prison and a USD 250,000 fine.
The defendants will be summoned to appear in U.S. district court in Seattle on April 14, 2016, the DoJ informs.