IMO 2020 enforcement: magic pipe cases all-over again?

The shipping industry is well aware of the fines and penalties imposed by US authorities against vessel owners, operators and officers for alleged bypasses of a vessel's oily-water-separator (OWS), which is required pollution control equipment under Annex I of MARPOL-the international treaty governing environmental compliance and pollution control on the high seas. In these so-called "magic pipe" cases, the US Department of Justice brought a number of successful criminal prosecutions, with several convictions that included fines in excess of $10 million.

Now the US government is poised to use the same legal regime to prosecute violations of the upcoming sulfur emission reduction mandate under Annex VI of MARPOL, otherwise known as IMO 2020. By now, almost everyone knows that on January 1, 2020, ocean-going vessels will need to utilize bunker fuel with a sulfur content of less than 5,000 ppm or otherwise use emission control technology (i.e., scrubbers) or alternative fuel (i.e., LNG) that achieves the same emission reductions. The rate of 10-20 percent non-compliance is all the more staggering when considering that this is the percentage of purposeful, willing...