Charges Filed Against Two Shipping Firms in L.A. Harbor Oil Spill : Courts: Case is first filed under 1990 state anti-pollution law. Dumping of 12,000 gallons damaged hundreds of vessels.

Exactly one year after Los Angeles Harbor’s largest oil spill, authorities on Wednesday filed felony water pollution charges against the owners and operators of a freighter and a barge that were involved in the mishap.

The criminal case, brought jointly by the Los Angeles County district attorney and the Los Angeles city attorney, marks the first time that felony charges have been filed under the state’s Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act. The law was passed in 1990, in the aftermath of that year’s massive oil spill off Huntington Beach.

“Our office feels that criminal enforcement of the laws is the best pollution control device we have,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. William Carter, one of the prosecutors in the case. “Now that we have the weapons in the government code, we are going to use them.”

Under the new law, companies face a maximum $500,000 fine for improperly discharging oil into state waters. Previously, oil spills were prosecuted as misdemeanors under the state Water Code, which allowed for a maximum fine of $25,000.

The criminal case revolves around a Jan. 8, 1991, spill in which 12,000 gallons of oil were dumped into Los Angeles Harbor, causing portions of the nation’s busiest port to be shut down for a day.

Authorities disclosed that four oceangoing vessels, hundreds of pleasure boats, more than a dozen barges and commercial boats and as many as 200 sea birds had been tarred with thick, sticky fuel. The cleanup cost approximately $18 million and took three months.

Prosecutors say the spill occurred when a barge, the Olympic L, was loading fuel onto the South Korean-based merchant ship Sammi Superstars at Berth 176, near the port’s East Basin. Witnesses said the ship’s fuel tanks overflowed, shooting oil through vents 10 feet into the air and cascading it onto the decks and overboard.

Deputy City Atty. Vincent Sato, who is handling the case with Carter, likened the incident to a motorist allowing gas to spill out of the tank of his car. “I guess the best way to characterize it is they topped off the tank,” Sato said. “And they topped it off so much that 380 barrels hit the water.”

The criminal complaint names the Korean company, Pan Ocean Shipping Co. Ltd. of Seoul, as well as its American representative, Panobulk America Inc. of Long Beach. Also named is the barge owner, Links Marine Inc. of Long Beach. No individuals are charged.

The complaint charges each company with one felony count and two misdemeanor counts of water pollution. Prosecutors allege that the companies knew, or should have known, that the oil was being spilled.

The president of Links Marine, Jeff Mudgett, denied any wrongdoing, saying information in a civil suit his company is waging against the other two firms has shown that his workers were not at fault.

The lawyer for Panobulk and Pan Ocean, meanwhile, questioned whether the prosecution was necessary, saying his clients paid for the cleanup and have spent millions making restitution to 2,000 claimants, including small-boat owners and others whose property was damaged. He noted that at the time of the spill, his clients took responsibility for it.

“I think it’s a slap in the face to my clients,” said Sid Kanazawa. “My clients acted very responsibly in this thing. We didn’t flinch. We set up a command center and manned the cleanup for almost three months. We did our job and we acted as responsible citizens.”

Replied prosecutor Carter: “It’s like the bank robber giving the money back after he was caught. It’s not a virtue to clean up. It’s not a virtue to give the money back after it was stolen. These companies have to clean up. They should clean up. They should be responsible.”

Both Mudgett and Kanazawa said their civil suit has pointed to a third vessel that may have been involved in the spill. They said the litigation has revealed that another ship may have inadvertently pumped fuel oil into the harbor on the night of the Sammi Superstars spill, exacerbating the damage.