In shipping circles, this is not a reference to the piper dressed in multicoloured (“pied”) clothing who lures the rats (and, in the folk legend, children) away. It is a reference to a device commonly used to transfer oily waste from the waste oil tank to a tank that empties directly into the sea bypassing the oily water separator.
Why is this a problem? It is directly contrary to MARPOL regulations which are designed to prevent pollution from ships. If there is an infringement then it can cause huge problems for ship owners, including criminal charges against the crew and potentially huge fines against ship owners.
Why do it then? Some say it’s to prevent overloading of the oily water separator, address ballast issues and/or reduce the perceived costs of dealing with oily waste but there can be other issues, for example to deal with flooding in the engine room due to a mistake made by the crew that they may not want the shipowner to know about. However, in most cases the crew are not properly trained on the importance of compliance with environmental legislation. Mandatory engine room procedures regarding treatment of bilge water are sometimes disregarded and (to make matters worse) concealed by engineers who are looking for a quick and easy fix.
Having committed the crime, we often see concealment – which makes matters worse. Many of the reported cases involve fabrication of oil record books.
The most recent example of this was the MT Swift Winchester managed by V Ships where the Chief Engineer told the crew to connect the incinerator’s waste-oil holding tank to the sewage holding tank via a “magic pipe”. This allowed oily waste to transfer into the sewage holding tank which was then discharged directly into the sea. The oil record books were subsequently falsified. This eventually led to a US$2M fine by a Texas Court.
We have handled numerous magic pipe incidents over the years. In almost all cases the ship owners and managers have been completely unaware of the wrongdoing. It is vital that ship owners investigate the incident properly and ideally before the vessel trades to the US where penalties can be huge. In one case, the incentives offered by the US authorities under their whistle blowing scheme led to a false allegation against a Chief Engineer supported by what turned out to be falsified photographic evidence of the “magic pipe”. Whilst the inclination may be to sack the offender and pay the fine, that is often not the advisable course of action. A proper investigation is needed before taking any precipitant action. It is important to recognise that there are often tensions within the crew and the “magic pipe” is seen by some as a way to get even with those they do not like as well as earn a reward via the US whistle blowing regime. A proper audit of the oil record book and the ships records can lead to a resolution without the need to pay a fine and incur the reputational damage of being labelled as an environmental offender.
Nick Burgess
Partner
