Container Ship Firms Agree to Pay $3.25 Million to Settle Damages

Published Jul 27, 2006 12:01 AM by The Maritime Executive

The Department of Justice and the Department of Commerce has announced that the owners and operators of the foreign-flagged container vessel Med Taipei have agreed to pay $3.25 million to the United States to resolve allegations that 15 containers lost overboard in 2004 resulted in long-term damage to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS). The settlement represents the largest award ever for damages to a national marine sanctuary. A total of 15 containers reportedly fell off the vessel in transit in rough weather to Los Angeles from San Francisco. The U.S. Coast Guard has since reported that the containers were inappropriately loaded aboard the vessel. When the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) discovered one container carrying car tires in June of 2004, the serial number was easily identified and traced back to the ship.

Sue Ellen Wooldridge, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department said, “The funds provided as a result of today's settlement will be used to restore habitats within the national marine sanctuary, an area of high biological productivity and diversity. These alternative restoration projects will help mitigate some of the anticipated resource injuries.” William Douros, Acting West coast Regional Superintendent for the National Marine Sanctuary Program, added, “It is important for shipping companies to execute due diligence when carrying cargo through national marine sanctuaries, as they will be expected to correct any damages that occur from their operations. It is also important that any lost cargo is reported immediately.”

NOAA says that “the potential impact of the lost containers on natural resources includes the crushing and smothering of benthic organisms, the introduction of foreign habitat structure and shifts in local ecology. In addition, there is likely to be an expanding benthic footprint over time as the containers degrade and collapse, spreading their contents along the ocean floor. There is potential for entrapment of marine species by the cyclone fencing, ingestion of plastic wrappers and bags as they are released from the containers over time, as well as deposition of plastics and other oil-based products.”

Local officials will not attempt to remove the remaining containers, whose locations are not known. The proposed consent decree outlining the settlement was lodged in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.