The registered owner of a tanker controlled by Evangelos Marinakis' group of companies and three of its engineers have pleaded guilty to felony pollution charges in Los Angeles.

But prosecutors have promised not to go after the ship's beneficial owner and manager, Marinakis-backed New York-listed Capital Product Partners and his private Capital Ship Management.

Amoureux Carriers Corp, owner of Capital Product's 149,900-dwt tanker Amoureux (built 2008), agreed to plead guilty to a single charge of failing to maintain an accurate oil record book.