Taiwan’s High Court on 19 October overturned an earlier ruling that obliged TS Lines to pay approximately US$5 million in damages to fishermen whose livelihoods were allegedly affected after TS Taipei, one of the company’s boxships, ran aground and broke in two in March 2016.
Marine fuel spilled from the wreckage had allegedly affected fishermen in the area, but TS Lines appealed, saying there was no proof that the accident damaged the fishing industry.
TS Taipei, a 2006-built 1,574 TEU ship, ran aground on 9 March 2016, in Shimen district off Keelung port, while on its way to Taichung port. All 21 crew members were rescued, but rough weather made the salvage work challenging. Stormy weather caused the hull to crack and two weeks later, the vessel broke in two.
More than 100 workers were sent to contain the oil slick that spanned a two-kilometre stretch of coast at Shihmen in New Taipei City and it took nearly five months to complete the salvage operation.
Jinshan District Fishery Association sued TS Lines for damages to its 9,146 members and in November 2019, the Taipei District Court ruled that the Taiwanese intra-Asia carrier had to pay around US$5 million.
TS Lines appealed, and in its judgment, the High Court said that the fishery association had failed to prove that the TS Taipei grounding and oil spill had damaged the fishing industry or curtailed the fishermen’s earnings.
The judges noted that among the fishery association’s 9,146 members, only 177 claimed compensation for pollution affecting their fishing boats and nets, and even then, this group could not monetise the damage they suffered.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
