The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) strongly criticized the judgement of the Spanish Supreme Court within the ‘Prestige’ Case throughout a gathering final week of the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPCF). 

In 2002, oil tanker MV Prestige spilled an estimated 63,000 tonnes of oil after sinking northwestern Spain. As a results of this oil spill, hundreds of kilometers of shoreline and multiple thousand seashores on the Spanish, French and Portuguese coast have been polluted, whereas damaging the native fishing business.

In 2013, a decrease Spanish Court, after listening to proof, had acquitted Master in addition to the Spanish civil servant of all expenses of felony injury. The decrease Court didn’t due to this fact award any compensation to the claimants, which included the Spanish Government.

In January 2016, the Supreme Court overturned the decrease Spanish Court’s determination, discovering the Master criminally accountable for damages to the surroundings and sentencing him to 2 years’ imprisonment. It additional held that the misconduct disadvantaged the shipowner of the suitable to restrict legal responsibility for air pollution injury underneath the 1992 Civil Liability Convention (CLC).

ICS mentioned that the Supreme Court’s judgement was reached in simply someday, with out listening to any new proof and within the absence of the Master. At the identical time, the Supreme Court confirmed the acquittal of the Spanish civil servant.

ICS, in a proper assertion to governments overseeing the worldwide oil air pollution compensation regime through the IOPCF, pressured its instant concern was the implications of the Supreme Court’s determination for the unwarranted criminalization of seafarers.

ICS additionally famous that this determination might now be deployed to interrupt the shipowner’s proper to restrict its monetary legal responsibility underneath the CLC.

“The Supreme Court’s decision was extremely surprising in that it overturned a lower court’s acquittal of the Master, in his absence, and without hearing any new evidence as to his knowledge about the condition of the ship. This raises fundamental questions as to whether it was a fair trial,” the ICS said.

“This decision appears to be highly unusual and has been reached through a somewhat contorted application of law to facts which were found to be correct by the lower court. The decision also seems entirely unbalanced, applying different standards when assessing the blameworthiness of the Master to those applied to government officials on shore, whose decisions were exonerated by the Supreme Court.”

ICS mentioned that it involved that this determination could also be used to help a declare to interrupt the shipowner’s proper to restrict legal responsibility and that the quantities then claimed would far outstrip these limits. These limits of legal responsibility are the important quid professional quo for shipowners for agreeing a strict legal responsibility underneath the CLC regime.

However, underneath the CLC the suitable to the boundaries could also be damaged if it may be proven that the shipowner acted “recklessly and with knowledge that the damage would probably result”.

ICS says that the actions by the Spanish authorities to pursue its claims in opposition to the shipowner, for what are anticipated to be huge quantities in extra of the shipowner’s limits of legal responsibility, may severely undermine the system of shared legal responsibility that has been agreed underneath the CLC/Fund legal responsibility and compensation regime.

ICS due to this fact appealed to all Member States of the IOPC Funds to do their utmost to guard and help the system which has labored very properly over the previous many years, and which shouldn’t be sacrificed for the pursuits of particular person nations.

“The whole regime is based on co-operation and trust between the shipping industry, the oil industry and governments” mentioned ICS it its assertion to the IOPCF.

ICS now fears that that the whole system of environment friendly compensation for oil spills could possibly be put in critical jeopardy due to unsound selections being made by nationwide courts.