Liability, awards and settlements

26.12, oil tanker seized

South Korea: a government-affiliated pollution agency seized crude oil tanker Hebei Spirit in order to force its owners to pay for the clean-up. The oil spill occurred when a sea-bound crane mounted on crane barge Samsung No.1 punched holes in the tanker on Dec 7, causing a leak of more than 10,500 tonnes of crude oil that washed up on west coast beaches, including a nature reserve. The South Korean government has yet to release a damage estimate or say how much the clean-up will cost although it has promised to provide 30bn won ($32mn) in emergency aid to residents of the disaster-hit area by the end of January. South Korea’s fishing and tourism industries were worst affected by the spill. Separately, it has offered up to 300bn won in emergency funds to support small businesses and marine farmers. The European Union, the UN and Japan have despatched environmental experts to assist the clean-up. Aid has also come from Singapore, China and the US. Tens of thousands of volunteers have cleaned oil from most of the major beaches hit by the spill. Conservation groups said oil that has sunk to the seabed will cause problems for many years to come.