January 18, 2008

 

U.S. rewards 8 Filipino seamen $0.7-M
for helping prosecute ocean polluters

 

            Manila -- Eight Filipino seamen have received $730,000 in cash rewards from the United States government for helping prosecute the owners and officers of two ships that illegally dumped sludge oil and contaminated waste water in U.S. waters.

            The rewards were presented to the seamen during a ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Manila on Friday, January 18.  At the seamen’s request, the Embassy will not release their names to the media.
            The U.S. District Courts in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Jacksonville, Florida authorized the cash rewards under a U.S. government program to reward persons who help in the prosecution of environmental law violations.

            Embassy officials said the Filipino seamen reported to U.S. authorities the discharge of pollutants from two merchant vessels in ocean waters off Puerto Rico and in Florida.  The seamen testified on behalf of the U.S. Government at the grand jury proceedings and were prepared to testify at the trial if called.  Embassy officials said that as a result of the seamen’s cooperation, the companies who owned the ships and the ships’ principal officers pleaded guilty.

            “The U.S. views pollution of the ocean as a crime against the citizens of all nations, and it has laws to prosecute those who pollute the environment as well as laws that reward persons who cooperate with authorities to arrest and prosecute the violators of those laws,” said U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney.

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