Singapore shipping firm fined $10m for Alaska spill

An American court has ordered a Singapore shipping firm to pay a US$10-million penalty for an oil spill, after one of its ships ran aground near an Alaskan wildlife haven.

The mishap killed thousands of migratory birds, sparking a US$100-million cleanup. The Malaysian-flagged tanker Selendang Ayu, owned by IMC Shipping, ran aground and sank near Unalaska Island, off the south-western coast of Alaska on Dec 8, 2004. IMC Shipping is the shipping arm of Singapore-based IMC Group, which also has business in property and natural resources development.

On Wednesday, the United States Justice Department said that the company, one of the world's largest privately held shipping groups, would pay the US$10 million criminal fine, of which US$3 million would be for community service in the polluted area, while US$1 million would be used to help the wildlife haven.

Thousands of metric tonnes of soybeans and 1.3 million litres of bunker oil spilled into the sea. Also, six of the 26-member ship crew were killed when a US Coast Guard helicopter crashed during a rescue attempt.

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