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SEOUL—Samsung Heavy Industries Co., the world’s
second-biggest shipbuilder, and Hebei Spirit Shipping
Co. were indicted by South Korean prosecutors following
a probe into the worst oil spill in the past four years.
The
companies violated “sea pollution-prevention law,” the
prosecutors said in an e-mailed statement. Five people
involved were indicted, including the captains of
supertanker Hebei Spirit and the Samsung Heavy-operated
barge, which collided last month.
Samsung
Heavy shares fell 10.4 percent, the biggest drop in more
than five months, on concerns about compensation costs.
The spill leaked 10,500 metric tons of oil into the
Yellow Sea off the country’s western coast, prompting
the government to declare the area a disaster zone.
“Uncertainty will remain until we have an idea of how
much money will be involved,” said Cho In Karp, an
analyst at Good Morning Shinhan Securities Co. in Seoul.
“The biggest concern now will be how much social
responsibility Samsung Heavy will have to take for the
accident,” he said.
An
investigation into the oil spill will continue, the
prosecutors said at a briefing Tuesday in the western
city of Seosan that was shown live on television.
“We are
disappointed by the announcement,” Ferdi Stolzenberg at
public relations company MTI Networks, which is
representing privately owned Hebei Spirit Shipping, said
in Hong Kong. “We provided sufficient evidence to the
authorities that there wasn’t more our crew could have
done to avoid the spill.” The Hebei Spirit was anchored
at the time of the collision.
Samsung
Heavy’s shares fell 10.4 percent to close at 29,300 won
Monday. The benchmark stock index Kospi lost 3 percent.
“Samsung
Heavy will continue efforts to help clean up the oil
spill,” Kim Boo Kyung, a spokesman at Samsung Heavy,
said after the prosecutors’ briefing. “We will also make
all efforts to help restore the livelihood of the people
in the area as well as restore the environment.”
Almost
14,900 people, including coast guard personnel and local
residents, and a total of 221 vessels were mobilized to
help clean up the spill, the Ministry of Maritime
Affairs and Fisheries said last month.
The
leaked oil affected 385 ocean farms that cultivate
oyster, abalone and other seafood, and 221 hectares of
beaches, according to the home affairs ministry.
The
provincial office of
South Chungcheong will provide victims in six regions affected by the oil
spill with 55.8 billion won ($59 million) in aid, South
Korean daily newspaper Hankook Ilbo reported earlier
Monday.
Three
residents in the region committed suicide since the oil
spill occurred, the newspaper added.
Hebei
Spirit is fitted with one hull, according to Lloyd’s
Register-Fairplay, which assigns ship-registration
numbers. An international ban on such ships is due to
start in 2010. Modern tankers are fitted with two hulls
to cut the risk of an oil spill and are usually more
expensive to hire. (Bloomberg) |
