- The Mauritian Government is pressing for compensation from the ship’s owners that caused the accident.
- Several analyses by trade agencies and law firms state that it’s unclear as to whether the limits will be enough to pay back the losses incurred.
- IPOC Funds claim that the compensation could have been as high as $285 million had the oil spilled from a dedicated tanker.
- In conclusion, the amount of compensation that can be claimed is still uncertain.
Based on the reports published by Deutsche Welle, weeks after the horrific oil spill in Mauritius, people are asking who will pay for the damage?
What Happened?
Mauritius declared a “state of environmental emergency” on August 7 after Japanese-owned cargo ship MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef, leaking 1,000 tons of oil onto pristine coasts.
The tourism industry collapsed after the government cut the island off from the rest of the world to protect it from the coronavirus pandemic.
For shuttered hotels and restaurants, an ecological disaster on top of that might now be too much to bear.
Who Will Pay?
It’s too early to say how much damage has been done — or how much money can be claimed back.
“The impacts of these spills often dwarf the capacity of governments to respond and companies to pay” said Carroll Muffett, president of US-based nonprofit Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL).
The Mauritian government is pressing for compensation from the ship’s owners, Nagasaki Shipping, who told DW in an email statement that they “will respond in good faith to any damages in accordance with applicable law.”
It’s unclear if the limits would be high enough to pay off the losses, according to separate analyses from UNCTAD, the UN’s trade agency, and Clyde and Co, a UK-based law firm.
Under the 2001 Bunkers Convention — compensation for pollution from a vessel the size of the MV Wakashio could be capped at about $65 million (€54 million), or even lower, at about $18 million.
The Compensation Could Have Been Much Higher
Mauritius is party to the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC Funds), a legal framework that governs compensation for pollution from oil tankers.
Had the oil spilled from a dedicated tanker, rather than being the fuel of a regular cargo ship, the compensation could have been as much as $285 million.
Moreover, that amount could have been nearly four times higher, at about $1.05 billion, if Mauritius had ratified a supplementary protocol to the fund in 2003.
Because the vessel involved does not qualify as an oil tanker — though it had been transporting jet fuel and gasoline, it was not carrying oil as cargo when it crashed.
The case will likely be dealt with under the Bunkers Convention without further involvement of the IOPC.
Will The Amount be Enough?
Martin Hall, head of marine casualty at law firm Clyde and Co, wrote in his analysis that the possible compensation limit of $18m under the Bunkers Convention,
“seems hardly enough to cover the sort of losses that might now be envisaged from the impact of some 1,000 [tons] of heavy fuel oil on the pristine ecological environment of Mauritius.”
Still, with the disaster not yet over, experts say it is impossible to predict how much money Mauritius will eventually be able to claim in compensation.
“The crisis is still ongoing and we don’t know the losses,” said Regina Asariotis, head of policy and legislation at UNCTAD, adding that the legal situation was complex.
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Source: Deutsche Welle
