The dispute over compensation for an oil spill in the Pearl
River Delta in 2004 has been settled.
The owners of the two ships involved in the collision that
caused the pollution will pay local authorities and affected people
US$8.5 million, according to Guangzhou Maritime Court
yesterday.
"The one-and-a-half year long case has come to successful
conclusion," said Hu Houbo, a spokesman of the court. "Both sides
are satisfied with the result."
The vessel collision occurred on December 7, 2004 when the
Panama-registered Hyundai Advance was sailing toward
Singapore from Shenzhen Port and the German-registered MSC
Ilona was on her way from Shenzhen to Shanghai.
The collision ruptured tanks storing fuel on MSC Ilona
and more than 1,200 tons of heavy oil leaked into the river. The
resultant oil slick, the biggest ever such incident in the river,
was nine nautical miles long and 600 meters wide. It seriously
damaged the environment and ecology in the waters off Guangdong Province.
Guangdong Maritime Bureau received US$4.132 million for its work
in cleaning up the spill, Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Ocean and
Aquatic Products Industry got US$3.5 million for its efforts to
restore fishing resources and the AIU Insurance Company Shanghai
branch won US$18,000 for damaged cargo.
The remaining US$850,000 went to 96 compensation claimants from
Hainan Province who'd been affected by the
pollution. The Hainan claimants withdrew their claim in July on the
condition that the two bureaus lodged a compensation claim on their
behalf.
(China Daily August 17, 2006)