09/02/09 18:17:47 1pLxOz0m BE:406782634-2BP(222)
SKorea court limits compensation by Hong Kong tanker
25 minutes ago
SEOUL (AFP) ?
A South Korean court Monday accepted a request to limit the total compensation payable by the owner of a Hong Kong
supertanker, which has been partly blamed for causing the country's worst oil spill.
The court in the western town of Seosan said the total amount payable by the owner of the supertanker Hebei Spirit will
be limited to 142.5 billion won (103.1 million dollars).
"The decision will help us start the lengthy process of deciding the amount of compensation payable to each victim,"
court official Bang Dong-Gap told AFP.
"The process is expected to take up to five years, and we expect more than 120,000 people to file for compensation," he
added.
The spill happened when a barge carrying a construction crane broke free after a cable linking it to one of two tugs
snapped in rough seas in December 2007.
The barge, owned by Samsung Heavy Industries, rammed the anchored 147,000-ton supertanker. The ship was holed in three
places and 10,900 tons of crude oil was spilled, coating miles of beaches.
An appeal court found that Samsung was mainly to blame for the accident and confirmed prison terms passed by a lower
court on the Korean tugboat skippers.
But it also maintained that the tanker crew chiefs failed to act promptly to minimise the spillage and jailed the
Indian captain and chief officer.
The tanker officers are now on bail pending an appeal to the supreme court. International shipping groups said they
were blameless and have strongly criticised the prison sentences.
The International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund has estimated damage from the spill may total 573.5 billion won.
Some 7,500 fishermen have launched a compensation lawsuit against Samsung Heavy Industries. In December the firm asked
a court to limit the total compensation it should pay to five billion won, but no decision has been reached.
Residents and fishermen have demanded greater compensation from Samsung.
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