허베이 스피리트호 유류오염으로 인한 손해배상의 제 문제

On December 7, 2007, a massive crane barge collided with the Hong Kong-registered ‘Hebei Spirit’, a 146,000-ton tanker, puncturing holes in its hull. Almost 11,000 tons of oil leaked into the pristine seas off Taean County. This oil spill is the largest in South Korea’s history, about twice the size of the ‘Sea Prince’ oil spill. Compensation for damages caused by the resulting oil pollution is being evaluated based on two international conventions and one Korean statute : the 1992 Civil Liability Convention, the 1992 Fund Convention, and the Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage Guarantee Act. The Act provides a first tier of compensation payable by the owner of a ship which causes pollution damage, and a second tier of compensation is payable from the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund, financed by recipients of oil. Additional compensation is payable from such Fund when the amount payable by the ship owner and its insurer is insufficient to cover all of the damages incurred. The total amount of compensation for the catastrophe will be too little for the residents of the disaster-hit regions to resume their normal lives. Victims may have to deal with lengthy civil suits to receive adequate compensation. Due to concerns over insufficient and tardy compensation, the Korean government enacted the Special Act on the Hebei-Spirit Oil Spill to expedite the compensation process. This paper addresses the legal issues relating to the collision and the scope of compensation in the Hebei-Spirit oil spill case. This paper also examines legal questions regarding the Special Act on the Hebei-Spirit Oil Spill and proposes various ideas for better regulation.