Pollution fund mum on why city was offered just 30% of spill cleanup tally
A day after Mayor Gregor Robertson said the city had been offered compensation of less than 30 per cent of its cleanup costs associated with the 2015 MV Marathassa bunker fuel spill, few details emerged as to why the city has been offered such a low amount.
Typically the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund pays most of the costs associated with cleanup and within six months. “Historically, we have paid out 95 to 97 per cent of what claimants have asked for,” said David Côté, lawyer for the office that administers the fund.
Côté said he couldn’t reveal specifics of the offer to the city. “There is a back and forth before a decision,” he said. Once a final offer is made, the claimant has 60 days to accept or appeal.
The Canadian Coast Guard and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority both brought claims to the fund after the spill and both have been settled by the fund, which then tries to recoup payouts from the shipping companies and their insurers.
In a statement on Monday, the City said its $550,000 cleanup bill includes salaries, equipment costs, lost revenue and amounts paid to third parties.
The city received an initial offer of compensation on Jan. 18. On Feb. 22, the city disputed the offer and provided additional documentation of its claim. On April 5, the fund office issued a final offer in the same amount as the first, but later withdrew it to allow for more talks between the two parties.
The city has also filed a claim against the owners of the Cypriot-registered vessel in Federal Court.
Peter Ross, vice-president of research at Ocean Wise and the Vancouver Aquarium, said the Aquarium has not made a claim through the pollution fund but is not ruling it out. The Aquarium received an offer of $30,000 from the shipping company, Alassia NewShips Management in
response to their claim. “I’m disappointed,” Ross said
The Aquarium spent $85,000 on sample analysis in the first four days after the spill. “The coast guard was finding oil on the shores, the responsible parties were denying everything. We had to figure out what this threat was,” said Ross.
Transport Canada said in a statement the pollution fund provides compensation for damages from ship oil from any kind of vessel, operates at arm’s-length from the federal government and pursues compensation from international ship owners and their insurers.
Alassia NewShips Management did not respond to inquiries.