Decision ID: 001798

In October 2005 the 1992 Fund Executive Committee considered the question of whether the Spanish Government’s claim for €109.2 million (£74 million) for the costs of the operation to remove the oil from the wreck of the Prestige was admissible in principle in accordance with the Fund’s admissibility criteria. It was noted that the Director, in the light of expert opinions, was of the view that the oil remaining in the sunken sections did not pose a significant pollution threat and that the costs of the operation to remove the oil were disproportionate to any potential economic and environmental consequences of leaving the oil in the wreck and that for this reason, he had considered that the claim did not fulfil the criteria for admissibility laid down by the IOPC Funds’ governing bodies, namely that the operation should be reasonable from an objective, technical point of view. The Committee decided to defer any decision on the admissibility of the claim, but instructed the Director to collaborate with the Spanish Government to examine all the elements of the claim with a view to identifying possible admissible items and to assess the admissible quantum of those items for consideration by the Committee at a future session.