French Oil Company to Appeal Ruling On 1999 Oil Spill, Willing to Pay Damages

摘要

French oil company Total announced Jan. 25 that it will appeal a Paris court ruling finding it liable for maritime pollution caused by the 1999 Erika tanker oil spill, but it said it is willing to pay all court-ordered compensation to victims of the disaster. The Paris Criminal Court Jan. 16 found Total and one of its wholly owned subsidiaries, Total Gas & Power Services, largely responsible for the Erika oil spill, which saw 20,000 metric tons of fuel oil escape from the vessel as it sank in heavy seas off the coast of Brittany in December 1999.