Magistrates' Court for an oil spill which took place off Dockyard.

Meridian ship Capt. Zissi Koskinas, 44, of Athens accepted responsibility for discharging oil into local waters and failing to make a report to the harbourmaster.

Police prosecutor Sgt. Donald Grant said Marine Police received a call from a Government tender at 10.45 a.m. on June 19, telling them he had seen an oil spill in Dockyard.

When they arrived at the scene Police saw that the oil spill was 58-feet by 30-feet and was a quarter mile east of the Meridian .

Sgt. Grant said while Police were trying to find out where the spill originated, the officers noticed a thin layer of oil near the ship.

Further inspection revealed there was a stream of oil on the starboard side of the ship from which a sample was taken to be analysed.

Later it was discovered that an oil slug was discharged overboard during a routine oil transaction.

It took four hours to clean up the mess at a cost of $6,411.15.

Sgt. Grant said the oil spill could have been contained if it had been reported earlier.

However, when Koskinas found out about the spill he asked George Butterfield of Meyer Agencies to call Marine and Ports, Sgt. Grant said.

Mr. Butterfield tried to call twice but he failed to get a response.

Sgt. Grant noted that the Meridian 's crew were accused of not being helpful.

And he said if they had been, it would have been easier to clean up the spill.

But Koskinas' lawyer Duncan Hall pointed out that the captain had 24 years of experience in shipping and he denied that the crew were not reluctant to co-operate.

They were uncertain themselves where the oil was coming from, he added.

The clean-up was delayed because of a lack of materials.

Mr. Hall explained that the oil escaped during a routine oil transition which was done twice a day to keep the ship stable.

Oil sludge went through an air vent and escaped into the ocean because an oil pipe that should have caught it was blocked, he said.

Mr. Hall also noted that the accident occurred at 6 a.m. and that no one noticed the oil spill until 7 a.m.

He said at that time it could not be determined that the spill came from the Meridian .

He also claimed that Koskinas was not notified about the spill until 10 a.m.

when he called Mr. Butterfield.

And Mr. Hall said by Mr. Butterfield's second attempt to reach the authorities the Marine Police where arriving on the scene.

However, Mr. Hall pointed out that the ship's owners, Celebrity Cruises, was willing to fully pay for the clean-up and $3,480.15 had already been paid to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

The cruise line was waiting for invoices to see who needed to be paid the rest of the money, he added.

The lawyer noted that it was a minor accident which did not affect the Bermudian population and was cleaned up in one afternoon.

He added that the ship had instituted more precautions to make sure an accident like this did not happen again.

In passing down the sentence, Acting Senior Magistrate Cheryl-Ann Mapp told Koskinas he would have to take special care in Bermuda's waters as the potential for disaster was real.

But she did not fine the captain for the second offence.