A South Korean court fined Samsung Heavy Industries Co. $28,870 for its involvement in a major oil spill, reports said.
The local court also sentenced two crew members to up to three years in prison for violating the ocean pollution law. The fine and prison sentences were the maximum allowed under the law.
The crew members piloted two tugboats pulling a Samsung-operated crane-carrying barge that slammed into the Hong Kong-registered tanker Hebei Spirit on Dec. 7, causing it to release nearly 80,000 barrels of oil into South Korea's coastal waters.
The court also ruled that Hebei Spirit Shipping Co., the owner of the oil tanker, and two of its crew members were not guilty of pollution charges.
Source: China Post