New Haven Independent

The crew of M/T Kriton glided up to the Magellan T-Dock in New Haven’s port one chilly evening in March. The vessel, a 606-foot oil tanker rusting from its 16 years at sea, had been making stops along the U.S. coast.

Like many of the commercial barges that steam into New Haven’s harbor, the ship and its crew brought a host of international ties — a crew from the Philippines, ship officers from Greece, owned by a company from Liberia, Africa, operating under the Bahamian flag.

Local harbor historian and Yale professor and kayaker Gaddis Smith said he sees the “rust bucket” pull up to the dock fairly often. Years ago, such a vessel (smaller, made of wood) would’ve been greeted by an envoy of ladies from the Woman’s Seafarer Friends Society, given a bible and a place to stay. Or sailors would’ve hopped off, free to roam the shores and local bars, reckoned Smith. Not so for the Kriton crew.

U.S. Coast Guard officials boarded the behemoth, inspecting for safety and environmental compliance. They issued a preliminary OK. But during the visit, according to government documents, a crew member cried for help.

The Investigation

During the visit, a crew member told the Coast Guard he was being threatened and harassed aboard the ship, according to Coast Guard Captain Peter J. Boynton, in a letter filed in federal court. Boynton’s letter doesn’t say if the threatening was related to an alleged cover-up of illegal dumping. But whatever the cause, it prompted the inspectors to return later that night, investigating the conduct of the Greek officers who run the ship.

Upon a second visit, the Coast Guard conducted interviews then slapped down an order that halted the tanker in its tracks:

“M/T Kriton poses a potential hazard to the port of New Haven and the waters of the Long Island Sound,” read an order from the Captain of the Port of Long Island Sound, dated March 21. “Your vessel … is hereby directed to remain in its current position.” The detention order — unusual in New Haven, according to longtime employees at the Magellan Dock — stemmed from a suspicion that the vessel may have been fudging entries in its oil record book to cover up illegal dumping of oily bilge.

As it turned out, the company that runs the vessel had a track record of bucking U.S. environmental law. The M/T Kriton is managed and operated by Ionia Management, S.A., a company incorporated in Liberia, headquartered in Piraeus, Greece. Ionia, which operates at least 10 tankers at U.S. ports, was convicted in 2004 of falsifying oil records to conceal illegal discharges of waste oil, according to a court documents. As a result, the company was on a three-year probation period.

Past experience showed the company needed to be tied down so it didn’t split for South America, argued the U.S. Attorney’s office in this response filed in federal court. When the company was hit in 2002 on the above charges, Ionia and its crew of witnesses were released on a promise to appear in court. “After Ionia made the promise, crew member witnesses disembarked on the very next port call beyond the jurisdiction of the U.S. and allegedly disappeared,” stated the government. The U.S. “learned the hard way” to keep witnesses under close watch.

So the Coast Guard held the tanker on a $1 million-dollar bond, with orders to keep safe the 12 potential witnesses, whom the government suspects have seen, or been ordered to participate in, the dumping of oil into U.S. waters. So that the crew, none of whom are U.S. nationals, was not “abandoned” on foreign soil, Ionia was ordered to pay for the wages, room and board for the witnesses for a minimum of 150 days. When Ionia refused, the government targeted the ship’s owner, Kriton Management, of Liberia.

Documents filed in court by the U.S. attorney’s office stated that after a six-day investigation, the Coast Guard had gathered “physical evidence and multiple admissions from crew” pointing to “ongoing deliberate illegal discharges of waste oil at the direction of senior ship engineers.” The Coast Guard has reason to believe that by falsifying oil records, the vessel had gained entrance to 21 U.S. ports. Each of the 21 suspected criminal offenses bears a punishment of up to six years in prison and half a million dollars in fines.

A Plea For Freedom

Lawyers for The Kriton protested the Coast Guard has no right to detain them on “suspicion” of pollution, when no charges have yet been filed.

“The U.S. Coast Guard is infringing on core human rights, civil liberties, personal freedoms and principles of fair treatment of foreign seafarers,” charged Kriton Management’s attorney, Patrick Lennon of Southbury, in this written petition filed in court. The company was losing $20,000 per day in hire for each day it waited, he claimed.

Protesting the $1 million bond and the withholding of U.S. Customs permission to proceed in its voyage, Kriton Management has sought release from Coast Guard clutches through an injunction in New Haven federal court. That case is still pending.

The tanker, as of the end of the week, could still be spotted Thursday, anchored outside of New Haven Harbor under the watchful eyes of the Coast Guard (pictured, from the beaches of Lighthouse Point).

Late Thursday, the Kriton came to an agreement on bond and was released, according to the Coast Guard.

Lennon indicated last week the tanker would continue manned by a replacement crew. Of the 20-odd total crew members, only 12 have been retained as witnesses, he said. The others remained on board.

The two reported whistleblowers told the Coast Guard they felt threatened. One had reported being harassed by hang-up calls and door-banging on his sleeping quarters. As a result of the threats, two crew members relocated to other shipmates’ rooms, according to the Coast Guard. Now the 12 have been granted safety in New Haven, where they’ll stay, presumably under U.S. Customs surveillance, as the investigation proceeds.

Local attorney (and former Alderman and Police Commissioner) Jonathan Einhorn has taken one under his charge: He’s representing a crew member by the name of Alexander Guevarria. He said his client remained at a New Haven motel.

A Seaman’s Welcome

Upon hearing of the stranded seafarers’ plight, Marshal Davidson, executive director of the Woman’s Seaman’s Friend Society, extended a welcome. It’s been many years since the New Haven-based group stopped rowing out to visiting ships, welcoming sailors to the harbor with a bible and a place to stay. The society’s once-hopping sailor’s home has been closed for decades.

Davidson perked up at the rare chance to return to the group’s original mission at its founding in 1859.

“We will be reaching out to see what, if anything, we can do to help,” he said.