'Magic hose' turns pollution into $2.75M fine

A trip through the Port of Tampa nearly a year ago will cost an Italian ship $2.75 million after the U.S. Coast Guard learned about a “magic hose.”

Federal judge Virginia Hernandez Covington levied the fine against Carbofin SpA for allegedly falsifying the oil record book of the M/T Marigola. Over a number of international voyages between 2013 and 2014, the Marigola allegedly used what shipmates referred to as a “magic hose” to dump sludge, waste oil and oil-contaminated bilge water directly into the sea, bypassing pollution prevention equipment.

Early last year, the Marigola was in the Port of Tampa loading anhydrous ammonia when two junior engineering crewmembers pointed out the hose to Coast Guard inspectors.

The discovery led to both the chief engineer and second engineer, Carmelo Giano and Alessandro Messore, respectively, to plead guilty to illegally discharging oily waste into the sea.

Of the $2.75 million fine, $600,000 of it will go to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation in the Florida Keys, the only national marine sanctuary in the state. Carbofin's history dates back more than a century, and it currently operates six ships.