TANKERS WARNED

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31362, 6 May 1967, Page 13

TANKERS WARNED

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter —Copyright) LONDON, May 5. Britain said today that it would arrest the two sister ships of the wrecked tanker Torrey Canyon if they appeared in British territorial waters. The ships are Sansinena, 38,000 tons, and Lake Palourde, 61-000 tons which—like Torrey Canyon—are owned by the Barracuda Tanker Corporation. The 61,263-ton Torrey Canyon struck a reef off the south-west tip of England on March 18. Before being destroyed by bombs from British planes,

two weeks later, she discharged thousands of tons of crude oil into the English Channel. Oil pollution meant major and costly disaster for the coast of south-west England and France’s Britanny. Writ Issued A statement from the Government Law Department yesterday said a writ had been issued against the owners of the ships in respect of the damage, loss and expense by or on behalf of Britain as a result of Torrey Canyon’s stranding. An April 4, Mr Wilson said Britain would sue for damages, and said: “We intend to press our claims thoroughly.” A Government spokesman said that the writ against the two ships was the only action that could be taken on Brit-

ish territory, as they are owned by a foreign concern without assets in Britain. ‘Cannot Sue’ Some leading authorities on international law have said that governments cannot sue anybody for pollution of their coastline by oil from wrecked tankers.

The total cost of the battle against the oil pollution threat to Britain’s shores is estimated at £2 million. A board of investigation in Liberia, where the ships are registered, reported on Tuesday that her master, Captain Pastrengo Rugiati, was solely to blame for the disaster.

A spokesman for Lloyd’s Shipping Register said Lake Palourde was in Yokosuka, Japan, where she arrived for repairs in April. Sansinena was in Los Angeles.