MEXICO WATER NEWS – 12/2

U.S. Fines Mexican Shipping Company $1.75 Million for Pollution Cover-Up

In the latest case in the United States’ ongoing crack down against marine pollution, Mexico-based ship manager Gremex Shipping S.A. has been sentenced for deliberately concealing illegal discharges of oily bilge waste into the ocean.

The company, which manages several ships including the Panamanian-flagged cement carrier M/V Suhar, pleaded guilty to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) in a federal district court in Pensacola, Florida.

The case emerged following a Coast Guard investigation of the Suhar upon its arrival in Pensacola on August 25, 2023.

 Coast Guard personnel discovered that the ship’s crew had been routinely discharging untreated oily bilge water directly into the sea, bypassing the onboard pollution control equipment. To conceal these illegal activities, the crew falsified the ship’s oil record book, a critical document used to monitor compliance with international marine pollution regulations.

Mérida has water leaks up to four years old

The Yucatan Potable Water and Sewerage Board (Junta de Agua Potable y Alcantarillado de Yucatán: Japay) has recorded leaks up to four years old, and there are pipes in the service network that are more than 50 years old or older.

Francisco Alberto Torres Rivas, director of Japay, shared that they are urgently addressing backlogs of work, in addition to the fact that it accumulates with new leaks arising day by day.

“We have low pressure and it is a matter of lack of maintenance and that entails a financial effort. We have to review the budget for next year because leaks appear every day or pumps and transformers break down, and right now, we have leaks reported four years ago,” he mentioned.