Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 3 -- South Korean authorities have filed charges against Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and Hebei Ocean Shipping Co. (Hosco) for violating the country's marine pollution prevention law.
The Taean Coast Guard said an SHI barge "ignored its duty" to take shelter in a safer place during inclement weather and crashed into the MT Hebei Spirit oil tanker.
South Korean authorities said Hebei Spirit spilled 12,547 kl of crude oil into the sea west of the Korean Peninsula (OGJ Online, Dec. 20, 2007).
The collision occurred Dec. 7 in the Yellow Sea near Taean, South Chungcheong, causing South Korea's worst-ever oil spill. SHI also owned the two tugboats pulling the barge.
Hong Kong-registered Hosco, owner of the oil tanker, failed to respond to an emergency call from a coastal control center, a violation of proper safety procedures, police said.
South Korean prosecutors meanwhile vowed to examine the case carefully.
"We plan to reinvestigate the case from scratch. If we find additional charges, we will file additional indictments," said Park Chung-geun, head of the Seosan branch office of the Daejeon public prosecutors' office.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
