Erika oil spill (1999)
A tanker that broke apart off Brittany in 1999, whose trial established in French law compensation for ecological damage and the charterer's liability.
The Erika was an aging tanker, voyage chartered by a major oil company, that broke apart in a storm and fouled about four hundred kilometers of coastline. The international regime channels liability to the shipowner, subject to a cap, and tops up compensation through the oil pollution fund financed by oil receivers. French courts went further, convicting the charterer, the classification society, the owner and the manager, and recognizing pure ecological damage, distinct from economic loss. The case changed how charterers vet ships, prompted three European maritime safety packages and paved the way for ecological damage to be written into the Civil Code in 2016. For insurance, it showed that a convention cap does not protect parties a national court can reach by another route.
On December 12, 1999, the Erika broke in two off Penmarc'h carrying about 31,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil, nearly 20,000 of which spilled; on September 25, 2012, France's Court of Cassation upheld the convictions of Total and the classification society RINA and confirmed compensation for ecological damage.
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