RINA Testifies In International Erika Probe

Officials of Italian ship safety inspector RINA, which approved the tanker Erika as safe before it sank off France in December, testified to an international inquiry into the disaster, judicial sources said. French judges traveled to the northwest Italian city of Genoa to question RINA’s top five officials in the presence of an Italian magistrate. RINA officials were expected to give the judge all Erika’s classification documents to date and all the documentation connected to the vessel’s life. RINA officials maintain that they have no responsibility for the accident. RINA said last week an internal inquiry had shown the 25-year-old Maltese-flag tanker broke up as a result of cracking of its hull, which had a small structural failure or leak.