Erika: Industry guilty, master acquitted

A court in Paris has ordered French oil group Total, Italian classification society RINA and the Italian owner and manager of the tanker Erika to pay damages and compensation totaling €192M ($284M) for their role in the Erika disaster.

The court ruled that Total, RINA and the ship’s Italian owner and manager were jointly responsible for causing maritime pollution when the Erika sank off Brittany in 1999. After finding the industry players criminally responsible, they were found guilty of civil responsibility. For this, Total and RINA have each been fined €375,000, and Giuseppe Savarese and Antonio Pollara, the Erika’s former owner and manager respectively, have each been fined €75,000. The sentence finds Total and industry companies guilty of imprudence in the chain of events leading up to the sinking and subsequent pollution, and recognizes the right of local authorities and ecology groups to receive compensation for environmental damage. Ugo Salerno, CEO of RINA, promised to "appeal and vigorously defend our interests" following the judgement.
Read More