Ship Owner Sentenced for Failure to Report Oil Spill

Dolbey Marine Inc., of Salisbury, Md., was sentenced in the Federal District Court of Baltimore to a felony charge of failure to notify the U.S. Coast Guard of an oil spill. The sentence included a fine of $7500 and 3 years probation. Charles Dolbey Jr., owner of Dolbey Marine Inc., was also sentenced to 6 months home detention with work release and fined $3000 for a misdemeanor charge of negligent discharge of oil into U.S. waters. The sentencing was a result of two plea agreements between the U.S. Attorney, Dolbey Marine Inc., and Dolbey from an oil spill that occurred in Salisbury on October 19, 1999. Coast Guard Activities Baltimore Pollution Investigators responded to a reported oil spill on the Wicomico River in Salisbury. An estimated 50-100 gallons of a diesel fuel and waste oil mixture had been spilled. An investigation determined the spilled material had come from the Tug GABRIELLE that was owned and operated by Dolbey Marine Inc.

During the investigation, the Coast Guard determined Dolbey Marine was in violation of other federal regulations including two counts of operating a towing vessel without the proper Coast Guard credentials, failure to report a marine casualty to the Coast Guard, and no Marine Sanitation Device on board the towing vessel. A Coast Guard Administrative Hearing Officer fined Dolbey Marine Inc. $12,200 for these violations on November 20, 2002.