Dredging company investigated for largest case of illegal dumping this year
A local dredging company is under investigation over what authorities say is the largest case of illegal dumping in Shanghai this year.
The company, whose name was not released, allegedly ditched about 1,000 square meters of dredged mud in an area not designated for dumping in an effort to lower its costs.
A vessel licensed to dump dredged mud, owned by the company, was found to have done that in a body of water near the estuary of the Yangtze River, an enforcement team of the China Marine Surveillance agency said in a report.
The captain admitted that he did not pilot the vessel to the designated dumping area before unloading the dredged mud, said the enforcement team.
The team, which is still investigating the case, has collected evidence, including the movements of the vessel,
If found guilty, the company could be fined at least 80,000 yuan (US$12,000).
This year Shanghai has tightened the law against damages to the marine ecological environment. It has raised the minimum fine for illegal dumping of waste that exceeds 500 square meters to 80,000 yuan, from 60,000 yuan for dumping waste between 100 and 1,000 square meters into the sea.
The enforcement team has collected fines totaling 477,500 yuan from nine cases of damages to the marine environment this year.
Besides mud dredged from river channels, household rubbish have often been found in the sea, evidence of illegal dumping. Rubbish such as plastic bags and plastic foam make up more than half of the garbage found along Shanghai’s coastline.
The captain of the vessel admits to enforcement staff that the ship did not reach the designated area but dumped the dredged mud in the middle of the way so as to save cost.
