In a statement Arent Fox said Dejan Vodopic was freed after striking a plea deal with prosecutors in California, a move that marked the end of an ordeal that began last year.

While authorities were pushing for a prison sentence the firm claims its client, a Croatian national, was slapped with a $15,000 fine and three years of probation instead.

Prosecutors took aim at Vodopic in the wake of an incident involving the 5,100-teu containership Bellavia