Potential compensation for damage caused by oil spillages at sea is to be increased by around half under new legislation being introduced by the Minister for the Marine, Mr Dermot Ahern.
The maximum payout for damage caused in one such incident will be about €290 million, under an international agreement funded by oil importers and related industries. To date the maximum payable under the fund has been around €190 million.
The increase follows major oil spillages in recent years in European waters, including the Erika disaster of December 1999, when the Maltese-registered tanker broke in two in the Bay of Biscay off the coast of France. Late last year, major damage to the Spanish, Portuguese and French coastlines was caused by the Prestige sinking off the Iberian peninsula. In the case of the Prestige, some 286 compensation claims were lodged in Spain by late July, with a value of over €145 million, while 91 claims have been made in France for just over €2 million. A total of €171 million is available, but it is already clear that the amount sought in compensation will not be matched by the available funds.
Recently it was agreed that the financing levels should be reviewed, and a protocol to establish a supplementary fund was adopted recently by International Maritime Organisation.
Mr Ahern intends to bring amended legislation before the Dáil and Seanad when the Oireachtas resumes in a few weeks. "We have already been pressing to ban single-hull oil tankers using our seas and have continued to expand our emergency response capability," he said yesterday.