Five Indicted in S. Korea Spill
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
South Korean prosecutors have reportedly charged five people, including the captain of a Hong Kong-registered tanker, following the nation's worst oil spill last month, according to an AFP report.
Last month a drifting barge smashed into the 147,000-ton Hebei Spirit on December 7, holing it in three places and spilling 10,900 tonnes of crude.
The barge owned by Samsung Heavy Industries had snapped its towline to two tugboats inThe tanker, owned by Hebei Shipping, a Hong Kong corporation, was anchored at the time. Its captain and mate were indicted but not detained for failing to follow safety orders from navigation authorities, the prosecutors said.
(Source: AFP)