The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has settled its lawsuit with Assuranceforeningen Gard, the Norwegian insurer of the cargo ship Amorgos, which was accused of causing an oil spill off the coast of Kenting National Park in 2001, according to an administration official.
According to the EPA, the ship's owner agreed to pay a total of NT$34 million (US$1.05 million) in compensation as part of the settlement reached in March this year.
The settlement only came to light recently because of a confidentiality clause in which both parties agreed to reveal the details at an appropriate time.
Hsu Jen-tse (
The compensation that the company offered this time was for the government only, he said.
The figure was, however, lower than the NT$350 million demanded by former EPA minister Hau Lung-bin (
The payment had already been wired to the EPA's account, Hsu said, and administration and the Kenting National Park's management are now discussing how the money would be utilized.
According to Hsu, the administration decided to accept the settlement after carefully considering the potential consequences of taking further legal action.
He said it would take at least another five years if both sides proceeded with the lawsuit in both Taiwan and Norway. The overall charges could climb to NT$100 million, he said.
Charging that the administration failed to provide substantial evidence to show that the oil spill had damaged coral reefs and the fishing industry as well as led to losses in tourism and tax revenues, the Norwegian court ruled in January last year that GARD should pay the EPA NT$93.5 million to cover fees accrued from hiring consultants and monitoring changes in the environment.
In return, however, the administration has to compensate the company NT$167 million for all charges stemming from the lawsuit.
After calculating the chances of success, the EPA decided to drop the lawsuit and seek a settlement instead.
Meanwhile, environmental advocates yesterday said that the incident exposed the problems that the government faces in dealing with lawsuits overseas.
Lim Hak-yam (
Should a similar lawsuit occur in the future, it can help the government present its case more convincingly, he said.
He noted that the EPA is hampered by its limited staff and expertise.
The Cabinet, he said, should integrate the efforts of different departments to assist the EPA in handling overseas lawsuits.
Lim also said that Taiwan has very few lawyers who are concerned with environmental issues, and even fewer have extensive experience in handling overseas cases.
He added that instead of relying solely on presenting substantial evidence to build up its case in overseas lawsuits, the government should work more closely with environmental groups around the world and seek their support.
EXCUSES: Beijing is using government and research vessels as a pretext to harass the nation and enter its EEZ, and engage in ‘hegemonic expansion,’ the coast guard said The Coast Guard Administration yesterday said it drove away Chinese oceanographic research vessel Xiang Yang Hong 22 (向陽紅33) from restricted waters after warning it that it was in Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Chinese vessel entered restricted waters off the coast of Yilan County’s Suao (蘇澳) at 11:35pm on Thursday, the coast guard said, adding that it dispatched the Lanyu patrol vessel and the boat PP-10077 to shadow the Chinese ship and issue radio warnings ordering it to leave. China has no sovereignty over waters off Taiwan’s east coast, Lanyu’s crew told Xiang Yang Hong 22 over the radio, and demanded
BAIT AND SWITCH: Allowing KMT-run counties to sell to China while the threat of abrupt cancelations hangs overhead is another form of coercion, officials said Beijing is using agricultural purchase offers announced during the Straits Forum to deepen Taiwan’s dependence on the Chinese market, a Taiwanese official said yesterday as they criticized the Taitung County commissioner’s participation in the initiative. During the Straits Forum held in Xiamen on Saturday, Chinese officials announced a sales and purchase agreement for agricultural products from some counties led by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Taitung County Commissioner Yao Ching-ling (饒慶鈴), who was barred from attending the event in person by the Mainland Affairs Council, participated via video. Under the agreement, China would purchase atemoyas, pomeloes, tea and grouper harvested in Taitung,
SHIFTING FIRE: While the tempo of purely military exercises around Taiwan has gone down somewhat, Beijing is working to isolate Lai diplomatically from support abroad Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is shifting tactics in his campaign to pressure Taiwan, ramping up diplomatic isolation of the nation while dialing down provocative displays of military aggression. Taiwan recorded a daily average of five Chinese military aircraft crossing the Taiwan Strait’s buffer line with China through May this year — half the number logged in the same period last year. In March, Beijing did not send a single fighter jet near Taiwan for seven days, the longest absence on record outside of typhoon season. In comparison, China sent 153 planes near Taiwan during one day at its peak in
Four Taiwanese universities have been ranked among the world's top 200 institutions in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings for next year, the highest Taiwan has ever placed in the category, with National Taiwan University (NTU) achieving its best performance at 54th globally and 17th in Asia. The four Taiwanese institutions in the global top 200 are NTU (54th), National Tsing Hua University (142nd), National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (177th) and National Cheng Kung University (191st), the rankings showed. All four universities achieved their highest-ever global rankings this year, QS data showed. National Cheng Kung University entered the top 200 for
RSS