The Taiwan High Court on Wednesday overturned a lower court’s ruling ordering T.S. Lines to pay NT$162.53 million (US$5.078 million) in compensation to cover economic losses suffered by 9,146 fishermen, following an oil spill from one of its vessels in 2016.
The high court’s decision is subject to appeal.
T.S.Taipei, a cargo ship which was carrying more than 500 tonnes of heavy oil and nine containers of hazardous substances at the time, split in half after running aground off the northeastern coast of Taiwan on March 10, 2016, leaking oil into the area for months.
Taipei District Court on Nov. 29, 2019 ruled in favor of the Fishermen’s Association in Jinshan District, New Taipei, which sought compensation of NT$170 million from T.S. Lines, the Hong Kong-based container carrier that owns the ship.
On behalf of 9,146 fishermen in Jinshan and neighboring Shimen District, the Fishermen’s Association told the district court that the fishermen experienced a decline in their catch of snails, shellfish, small octopuses and gelidium seaweed in the two years following the the oil spill.
T.S. Lines appealed the district court’s ruling and the Taiwan High Court on Wednesday found in its favor.
The oil spill was found to have caused marine pollution based on investigations by government agencies, but the Fishermen’s Association was unable to present evidence to prove the accident resulted in losses to fisheries, the Taiwan High Court said in its ruling.
About 1,000 tonnes of oil leaked before the 15,487-tonne vessel was removed 159 days after the accident. More than 10,000 people were involved in the cleanup and containment effort, according to a government report.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel