Federal Oil Inquiry Targets "Polar Discovery," a ConocoPhilips Tanker

James Legg, an engine room officer on the "Polar Discovery," says he witnessed an oil spill in the Pacific Ocean and the subsequent cover up.



The investigation follows a series of articles in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that described the spill and also detailed an unreported explosion, alcohol use, and other problems on ConnocoPhillips tankers.



Brian Kenney, a Philadelphia lawyer representing Legg, says the grand jury is just getting under way. The subpoena calls for Legg to provide all documents and materials relating to the "Polar Discovery." Bob Jones, another attorney representing Legg, said it is clear that the grand jury is investigating the Polar Discovery oil spill that occurred in January 2004, but wasn't reported until Legg tipped off the U.S. Coast Guard four months later.



According to the evidence that will be provided, Polar Discovery's captain and other officers lowered a crew member over the side of the ship with a power sprayer four days after the spill, shortly before the vessel arrived in Hawaii. Legg claims the purpose of the operation was to clean off any oil that might be visible to the Coast Guard.



Jack Carroll, the ship's captain, and the chief engineer both denied Legg's claim. Carroll said that the crew member was lowered overboard to check to see if there was any oil on the side of the ship, and not to hide it if there was.



However, the entry into the ship's logbook that day described the cleaning operation as a man-overboard drill and made no mention of an oil spill. Failure to report an oil spill is a federal crime.



Carroll said that no oil ever went into the water. He also said that he told the fleet manager about the spill a day or so later after it occurred, and was told not to worry about it. Carroll was later fired.



The Alaska grand jury is the second federal panel to investigate ConocoPhillips' tanker operations. A grand jury in Seattle is reviewing the company's activities after a mysterious oil spill that occurred on October 13, 2004 in the Puget Sound's Dalco Passage. The oil from that spill was matched by U.S, Coast Guard lab test to the crude oil carried that day aboard another ConocoPhillips tanker, "Polar Texas," which sailed through the area the day before the spilled oil discovery. The company has denied any role in the spill.



Legg said that, in mid-January, crew members mistakenly piped sludge oil from the engine room onto the ship's deck while the "Polar Discovery" was sailing from Port Valdez to Hawaii. Thick oil flowed across the deck and into a scupper hole, an opening in the side of the vessel that had been left open. According to Legg, the oil splattered 25 to 30 feet into the ship's house, and 200 feet back along the railing at the stern.



The Seattle Post also reported in a series of stories about an unreported explosion in San Francisco Bay and alcohol use by officers and crew members while in Port Angeles, Washington.