S'pore firm to pay for spill damage

S'pore firm to pay for spill damage

HANOI (AFP): A Singaporean shipping firm has agreed to pay US$6.75 million in compensation after one of its tankers spilled more than 1,000 tons of oil into a Vietnamese river, a report said yesterday.

Neptune Orient Lines agreed last week to pay the compensation after the Municipal Court of Appeal in Ho Chi Minh City heard the case last week, the Vietnam News reported.

City officials had launched legal action against Neptune Orient Lines after its vessel Neptune Aries collided with a pier at Cat Lai oil terminal on Oct. 4.

Claiming widespread environmental damage, the city had called for $20 million in compensation and impounded the vessel, which will be released as soon as the Singaporean firm pays up.