''Erika'' was a
tanker built in 1975 and last chartered by
Total-Fina-Elf. It sank off the coast of
France in 1999, causing a major environmental disaster.
Background
Erika was one of eight sister ships built in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. Despite having 10% less steel than many other tankers of similar size, Erika was very popular amongst shipping companies because of its relative inexpensiveness.
Sinking
On December 8, 1999, she sailed out of
Dunkerque
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.[Livorno
Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (prono ...]
and with a cargo of around 31,000 tons of
heavy fuel oil.
As she entered the
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...
, the Erika ran into a heavy storm. On December 12, 1999, she broke in two and sank, releasing thousands of tons of oil into the sea, killing marine life and polluting shores around
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
,
France.
According to the official inquiry by the Dunkerque Tribunal, the Principal Shareholder of Tevere Shipping is Giuseppe Savarese, owner of the Erika since 1996. Savarese lives in London and was personally responsible for finance, administration, legal, commercial, hull and machinery insurance and P&I insurance matters.
The Erika's technical and maritime management company was Panship, a Ravenna-based corporation incorporated in 1997. The Pollara and Vitiello families each own 50 percent. The company did not employ a specialist in naval architecture or vessel strength which is typical for such companies. With regards to maintenance, Panship defined the scope and nature of maintenance work in addition to creating and evaluating calls for bids for such work. All decisions were submitted to Giuseppe Savarese. Erika's was registered under a Maltese flag. The Classification Society for classed the Erika was RINA or the Foundation Registro Italiano Navale ed Aeronautica, based in Genoa. Malta like most Flag States delegates compliance with International Safety Management Code of International Maritime Organization to Classification Societies such as RINA. RINA issued all safety certificates for the Erika.
Course and oil spill
List of Certificates issued for the Erika by RINA:
*International Load Line Certificate - Dated December 16, 1998 valid until August 31, 2003
*Safety Construction Certificate - Dated December 16, 1998 valid until August 31, 2003
*International Pollution Certificate - Dated December 16, 1998 valid until August 31, 2003
*Safety Equipment Certificate - Dated December 16, 1998 valid until August 14, 2000
*Radio Certificate - Dated November 23, 1999 valid until March 31, 2000
Total said that the classification society,
Registro Italiano Navale
RINA is a private, multinational company headquartered in Genoa, Italy. It was founded in 1861 under the name Registro Italiano Navale (''Italian Naval Register'').
That same year, following the enforcement of a 1994 European Council directive ...
had reported that the tanker was in good condition, and that it routinely requires certificates of good condition for vessels more than 20 years old.
The accident triggered new EU-legislation as regard to transport by sea.
On January 16, 2008, Total SA, Giuseppe Savarese (the shipowner), Antonio Pollara (the handler) and RINA (the expert company) were sentenced in solidum to pay indemnities of €192 million (US$280 million), plus individual penalties. The judgement, while recognizing the risks inherent to oceangoing vessels, reckons Total SA was "guilty of imprudence", from the fact that Total SA did not take into account "the age of the ship", (nearly 25 years), and "the discontinuity of its technical handling and maintenance".
On March 30, 2010, Total SA lost their appeal to overturn the court's decision.
See also
*
Oil spill
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into t ...
*
EU Erika packages of law I, II and III
Notes
References
*
External links
Report of the Enquiry into the Sinking of the Erika off the coasts of Brittany on 12 December 1999Archive
- Permanent Commission of Enquiry into Accidents at Sea (''Commission Permanente d'Enquêtes sur les Événements de Mer'', CPEM) - Hosted by the Bureau d'Enquêtes sur les Événements de Mer
Rapport d’enquête sur le naufrage de l’ERIKAArchive
- CPEM at BEAmer
*
AnnexArchive
- Total SA
Ministry of the Environment
(Archived on web.archive.org)
Dossier of the Ministry of Defense
(Archived on web.archive.org)
Erika trial, Paris 2007judgement Erika (in french) january 16, 2008 slides of Erika by her crew few hours before sinkingChronology Erika trial appeal - Paris october 5th -november 18th 2009 appeal ruling (in french), march 30, 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erika
Oil tankers
Oil spills in France
Shipwrecks in the Bay of Biscay
Maritime incidents in 1999
TotalEnergies
Ships of Malta
1974 ships
