Liabilities arising from the oil spill along the Spanish coast will be "substantial", insurers for the stricken ship said.
The London P&I Club covered the Bahamas-flagged tanker Prestige for protec ...
Liabilities arising from the oil spill along the Spanish coast will be "substantial", insurers for the stricken ship said.
The London P&I Club covered the Bahamas-flagged tanker Prestige for protection and indemnity.
Club chief executive Paul Hinton said the Civil Liabilities Convention made shipowners liable for environmental damage caused by oil spills, even when they were not at fault.
The tanker was damaged during a storm last week and has already spilled a reported 5,000 tonnes of oil into the sea.
It split in two on Tuesday, fuelling fears the tankers total cargo of 70,000 tonnes of oil would be spilt causing further damage along the Galician coast.
Hinton said the ship was in the hands of a salvage company, which would save as much of the ship and cargo as possible while attempting to limit environmental damage.
"We are insurers, so of course we think of figures at the end of the day. But our primary consideration is to make sure damage to the environment is minimised," he said.
