Apr. 18, 2012

By Candus Thomson - The Baltimore Sun

A federal judge in Baltimore has awarded $462,500 to a low-level merchant officer who alerted Coast Guard inspectors that his cargo ship was intentionally polluting the high seas.

In his ruling Monday, U.S. District Judge Marvin Garbis also left the door open to giving Salvador Lopez, a former ship's engineer from the Philippines, an additional $462,500 in reward money, depending on the outcome of another portion of the case.

Lopez gave Coast Guard inspectors in Baltimore a handwritten note tipping them off to the illegal dumping of oily waste and garbage during the M/V Aquarosa's first visit to the port of Baltimore, in February 2011. He turned over to inspectors copies of the ship's log and his cell phone containing more than 300 photos documenting the violations.

This article can be found in its entirety on The Baltimore Sun website.