Supertanker seized over SKorea's worst oil spill: officials

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

28 Dec 2007

A Hong Kong-registered supertanker at the centre of South Korea's worst oil spill has been impounded until clean-up costs of more than 11 million dollars are paid, anti-pollution officials said Wednesday. The 147,000-tonne Hebei Spirit was seized after a writ was filed by the Korea Marine Pollution Response Corporation, an association of owners of tankers and oil storage facilities. "We sought the court ruling to ensure we retrieve the clean-up costs," a corporation spokesman told AFP, saying it had spent 10.4 billion won (11.7 million dollars) as of Saturday. The anchored supertanker spilt some 10,900 tonnes of crude oil when it was rammed by a drifting barge in rough seas off the western county of Taean on December 7, polluting beaches and scores of marine farms. A spokesman for the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries said it was too early to estimate total damage to fish farms and other businesses. "Local authorities are now helping victims there with information on how to collect evidence of direct and indirect damage to seek compensation in the future," he said. "However, it's too early to say exactly who should be held responsible for the accident and how much damages should be paid." The accident happened when a tugboat snapped its towing cable and the barge carrying a crane began drifting in rough seas. It smashed into the anchored supertanker, holing it in three places. The tanker is owned by Hebei Shipping Co, a Hong Kong corporation, and managed by British firm V.Ships. V.Ships, in a letter earlier this month, acknowledged the tanker owners have a responsibility for the pollution even though it said they were blameless. But it urged Samsung Heavy Industries, the barge operator, to accept its responsibilities. The captains of the tugboat and the barge have been arrested on suspicion of negligence and violation of pollution laws. The barge captain is suspected of having ordered his crew to sail despite rough seas, Coast Guard officials have said. Tens of thousands of police, troops and volunteers have staged a huge clean-up of the shoreline but environmentalist say the damage could last for years.