Mr. Ron (Ronald) Laurel - DP logbook number 12106139 –
D.O.B. 24/09/1960 – USA CoC 2028970
On the 21 January, 2014 Mr. Ron Laurel was barred from applying for a DP Operator Certificate
for a period of 5 years. In 2013 Mr. Laurel re-applied to the NI for a DP Operator Certificate as his
first application was unsuccessful. In 2013, he presented the old style DP logbook cut in several
pages, one of the pages was page 15 where the NI issues the stamp with the certification
number. The NI had at the time a policy in place to flag up any application that had a company
confirmation letter written by Hornbeck. In consultation with that company about Mr. Laurel’s
sea time and an investigation about the defaced logbook, Hornbeck’s QHSE department
questioned the NI as to why Mr. Laurel needed a new DP certificate when in fact the company
already had a copy of his DP certificate on file. Upon further investigation at the NI office it was
discovered that the number of the certificate on file in Hornbeck’s office had been issued to
another DPO (Jamil Ur Rehman), not Mr. Laurel. Hornbeck forwarded the email that they had
received from Mr. Laurel containing an electronic copy of the certificate as an attachment to the
Nautical Institute. As the investigation continued, the NI received an email query from Houston
Marine training centre on 2 December, 2013, asking how they should handle the situation
whereby a student who had just started an Induction Course at their centre said that he had lost
his logbook containing a stamp for the same course from Kongsberg Houston in 2002. The
student was Ron Laurel. However, at that time, his old style logbook was at the NI HQ for
investigation. During the investigation period, Mr. Laurel did the Induction Course at Kongsberg
Houston under the name of Ronald Laurel and gained a new DP logbook number 12106139,
which is now being invalidated by the Nautical Institute.
Mr. Laurel is being ban from the DP training system for the following reasons: falsification of DP
logbook electronically and undue use of a false document presented to the company; attempt to
gain a new logbook with false information of having lost that document.
Mr. Oleksandr Znakhurenko - D.O.B 22/08/1977 – Ukrainian CoC - 00235/2009/11
Mr. Oleksandr Znakhurenko applied for a DP Operator Certificate in late April, 2013. The first
problem with the application was a missing company confirmation letter for the DP familiarisation time he was claiming aboard OTS Yeoman. This was explained to him via email.
He replied that he no longer worked for the company, Delmar Marine, in Egypt, and thus had no
contact with them. In august 2013 the NI contacted Delmar Marine to ask for verification of the
sea time being claimed. Delmar Marine verified that Mr. Znakhurenko had been employed by
them but in 2010, not in 2008 as his log book showed. Furthermore, he had been employed as a
Chief Officer only, not in any DP capacity. As a result of the NI asking them to recheck records,
Delmar Marine emailed the crew lists of the OTS Yeoman for the period during which Mr.
Znakhurenko claimed he was aboard. He was not on the lists. Further investigation proved that
the DPO who allegedly signed the familiarisation of Mr Znakhurenko’s logbook was not aboard
the vessel either on the date of signing. Mr Znakhurenko was asked to give an explanation for
these irregularities. He did not but told the NI that he was currently employed as a Master/SDPO
with RK Offshore in Singapore aboard the Mari-K. The NI contacted the company and they said
that though Mr. Znakhurenko was employed as a Master he had no DP responsibilities and they
added that it is their company policy that all DP operators have current DP certificates, which
they must keep aboard with them should they be required in an inspection. The claiming of
fraudulent sea time and falsification of his logbook was the basis for the banning of Mr.
Znakhurenko.
As a result of the findings, The Nautical Institute is notifying all DP accredited Training Centres
and the maritime industry about this fact and informing them that any further applications
received from Mr. Laurel or Mr Znakhurenko will not be accepted by The Nautical Institute for a
period of five years from the date they were barred (21 January, 2014 for Mr Laurel and 28
January, 2014 for Mr Znakhurenko). The fraud has also been communicated to the Ukrainian and
American Maritime Authorities. In such cases the NI retains any logbook and all other documents
sent to us as part of the application.
In order to double check DP applications from Ukraine and Russia, The Nautical Institute has
started asking for certified copies of DPO’s passport, CoC and discharge book, in addition to the
company confirmation letter; The NI reserves the right to contact the company directly to cross
check the DP sea time claimed.
The Institute asks the Training Centres not to sell a new logbook to Mr. Laurel or Mr.
Znakhurenko under any circumstances, even though they might present an affidavit or police
report to qualify the issue; and to prohibit them from re-entering the training scheme during the
next 5 year period. Alert notes must be put in place immediately at your centre.
The Nautical Institute advises companies not to accept electronic, photocopied or scanned
copies of DP logbooks or DP certificates when hiring DPOs. The Institute reminds the industry
that there is a verification system available in NI’s website to check the validity of DP certificates.
