Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-12-12-Speech-3-274"
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"en.20011212.9.3-274"2
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"Mr President, it is by sheer coincidence that today we are sadly commemorating the second anniversary of the sinking of the
oil tanker. On the stormy night of 12 December 1999, this oil tanker, which was flying a Maltese flag, certified by an Italian classification society, manned by an Indian crew, insured by a company registered in the Bermudas, financed by a Scottish bank, chartered by a Shell company that sub-chartered it to a foreign subsidiary of the Total Group, which was transporting extremely polluting hydrocarbon belonging to another subsidiary of Total, sank off the French coast, thus polluting 400 kilometres of coastline and causing considerable damage estimated to cost more than FFR 5 billion.
So, what progress has been made, two years after this tragedy? Hardly any of the victims have received compensation. The IOPC Fund will only cover FFR 1.2 billion out of the FFR 5.5 billion of damages caused, and procedures are turning out to be lengthy, complicated and inefficient. The remainder will be borne by the victims, the local authorities and the French Government, pursuant to the application, not of the polluter pays principle, but of the perverse principle dictating that the victim pays.
The various measures that we are currently debating in the three reports by Mr Watts, Mr Ortuondo Larrea and Mr Hatzidakis have taken too long. Yes, we must strengthen State port controls, Mr Watts; yes, we must ensure the work of classification societies is more efficient, more reliable and more transparent, Mr Ortuondo Larrea; yes, Mr Hatzidakis, we must take concerted action at international level to phase out single hull oil tankers, whilst bearing in mind that double hull tankers cannot guarantee that ships will not sink or run aground. But why will we have had to wait more than two years after the disaster for such basic measures to be taken in these three areas?
And, more importantly, there are two fundamental questions that remain unanswered, and it has also not yet been established whether it is appropriate to take these decisions at European level.
The first question relates to compensation. All the victims must be fully compensated. Today, however, there are considerable differences of opinion at European level. Some people are in favour of setting up a specific European fund, whilst others prefer to increase the IOPC Fund. The differences of opinion persist and we cannot move ahead with this issue, whereas the United States, on the other hand, has unilaterally set up a very efficient and comprehensive compensation system, which is effectively funded by consumers of oil products, which is perfectly logical and legitimate. In Europe, Member States have different ideas about the risks of maritime pollution and it would therefore be perfectly legitimate for the countries that are at the forefront of this risk to take the necessary measures themselves. I urge them to do so.
The second fundamental question that is yet to be resolved relates to the issue of responsibility. We cannot allow events, such as that involving the
to ever happen again, where the front company was based in a tax haven, the flag of convenience was sub-chartered, the sub-contractor was an off-shore subsidiary and no less than 11 different companies had an interest in the ship and its cargo, thus creating a real labyrinth, in which the real decision-makers and those bearing the actual responsibility could hide. This situation is particularly hazardous. The Member States that are most concerned must ensure, as a matter of urgency, that there is clarification and transparency in the area of responsibility. This must also be done at a global level, as, Mr President, only the threat of very heavy and very severe penalties will be enough to deter the potential polluters of the future."@en1
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