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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Total guilty of French oil spill | Total guilty of French oil spill |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| A court in Paris has convicted French oil company Total of "maritime pollution" over France's worst oil disaster in 1999. | |
| The tanker Erika sank 75km (45 miles) off the coast of Brittany, leaking 20,000 tonnes of oil into the sea. | The tanker Erika sank 75km (45 miles) off the coast of Brittany, leaking 20,000 tonnes of oil into the sea. |
| Fuel contaminated 400km of coastline after the tanker broke up on 12 December 1999. | Fuel contaminated 400km of coastline after the tanker broke up on 12 December 1999. |
| Total was fined 375,000 euros (£280,000) and ordered to pay a share of nearly 200m euros in damages. | Total was fined 375,000 euros (£280,000) and ordered to pay a share of nearly 200m euros in damages. |
| The fine was the maximum penalty allowed. | The fine was the maximum penalty allowed. |
| Plaintiffs | Plaintiffs |
| The Erika's owner, Giuseppe Saverese, and its manager Antonio Pollara, were also found guilty, as was Rina, the Italian company that declared the Erika seaworthy. | The Erika's owner, Giuseppe Saverese, and its manager Antonio Pollara, were also found guilty, as was Rina, the Italian company that declared the Erika seaworthy. |
| Up to 75,000 birds died in the Erika oil spill | Up to 75,000 birds died in the Erika oil spill |
| Total and 14 other defendants went on trial in February 2007. All denied responsibility. | Total and 14 other defendants went on trial in February 2007. All denied responsibility. |
| There were scores of plaintiffs in the trial, including the French government, local councils and environmental groups. | There were scores of plaintiffs in the trial, including the French government, local councils and environmental groups. |
| Total was acquitted of a separate charge of complicity in endangering people and property. | Total was acquitted of a separate charge of complicity in endangering people and property. |
| The Erika was a 25-year-old rusting, Maltese-registered tanker that broke in two in heavy seas in the Bay of Biscay. | The Erika was a 25-year-old rusting, Maltese-registered tanker that broke in two in heavy seas in the Bay of Biscay. |
| Its 26 crew members were winched to safety by helicopter, but two weeks later its cargo of heavy fuel oil began to wash ashore. | Its 26 crew members were winched to safety by helicopter, but two weeks later its cargo of heavy fuel oil began to wash ashore. |
| Up to 75,000 birds died in the spill. | Up to 75,000 birds died in the spill. |
| A year after the sinking, the EU brought in tighter maritime safety controls, including the removal of single-hulled vessels such as the Erika. | A year after the sinking, the EU brought in tighter maritime safety controls, including the removal of single-hulled vessels such as the Erika. |