Court 'silent' about oil spill suit

A Chinese maritime court is staying silent about a lawsuit that has been filed against the two giant energy companies believed to be responsible for the ongoing oil leak in Bohai Bay. The Qingdao Maritime Court has declined to comment about the case or to confirm if the suit against the US oil company ConocoPhillips and the State-run China National Offshore Oil Corp has been accepted, said Jia Fangyi, a lawyer representing 30 Shandong province fishermen in the suit, on Wednesday. Jia said that reticence is a reaction to the wide effects the case is likely to have on the public. The Bohai Bay oil spill has lasted for nearly five months and polluted about 6,200 square kilometers of water there, an area about nine times the size of Singapore. It is also believed to have harmed thousands of fishermen. A representative of the Qingdao Maritime Court could not be reached on Wednesday. In general, a court has seven days following the receipt of a lawsuit to decide if it will accept it. The suit over the oil spill was filed on Nov 23, making Wednesday the court's deadline for a decision. "Until now, the court still hasn't given a clear reply about the suit, which means the legal procedure isn't over and I can't appeal to a higher court," Jia sighed. If the court delays making a decision, Jia said he may have no choice but to join forces with a US law firm and file the suit in a court in Houston, Texas, where ConocoPhillips has its headquarters. "This past Friday, a US law firm specializing in cases about oil pollution called me and we talked about details of the incident - how much oil has been leaked and how big of an area has been polluted," Jia said. He declined to give any information about the US law firm. Wang Yamin, an associate professor of oceanography from Shandong University at Weihai, said the public should not be surprised by the maritime court's response. He said the suit is very similar to another one that was filed previously by fishermen in Laoting, Hebei province, and was eventually rejected. An environmental lawyer who spoke to China Daily on condition of anonymity said that Chinese courts accept less than 10 percent of the lawsuits that are filed over environmental pollution. The Bohai Bay oil spill originated in the Penglai 19-3 oilfield, which is the country's largest offshore oilfield and is operated by ConocoPhillips and the China National Offshore Oil Corp. In August, the State Oceanic Administration said it will sue ConocoPhillips China over the series of leaks that began appearing in the bay on June 4. An administration official who declined to provide his name said the proposed legal action is still being prepared. He declined to release a time schedule for the lawsuit.