Manila - The United States on Tuesday presented rewards totalling 900,000 dollars to 12 Filipino seamen who helped successfully prosecute polluters of US waters.

A US embassy statement said the 12 sailors were crewmen of the Italian bulk carrier MV Windsor Castle and the Danish carrier MT Clipper Trojan, which discharged waste oil into US waters in 2006 and 2007.

The statement said that as a result of the seamen's testimonies, the owners of the two cargo vessels were found guilty of polluting the ocean and were fined.

The rewards, which ranged from 25,000 to 175,000 dollars, were presented during a ceremony at the US embassy in Manila. (dpa)