MIAMI (BNO NEWS) – A coastal cargo company based in Fort Lauderdale was sentenced on Friday for its failure to maintain an accurate Oil Record Book on its cargo vessel, he M/V Island Express I, prosecutors said.

Coastal Shipping Holding LLC was sentenced to pay a $350,000 fine and three years of probation. The Court also ordered Coastal Shipping Holding to make a $350,000 community service payment

The fore mentioned payment will fund environmental projects and initiatives designed for the benefit, preservation, and restoration of the environment and ecosystems in the waters of South Florida.

Coastal Shipping Holding previously pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to maintain an accurate Oil Record Book on board the M/V Island Express I, a coastal cargo freighter owned by the company which makes frequent trips from its home port in Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.

On May 4, 2010, the U.S. Coast Guard inspected the ship and discovered that the ship's oil pollution prevention equipment did not work. The vessel also contained hoses and pumps on board that were erected to be able to send oily-water waste directly overboard into the ocean.

Furthermore, the ship's Oil Record Book failed to contain required records indicating how the ship disposed of its oily water waste from as early as February 7 through May 4, the date of the inspection.

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