Decisión nº: 000725

In April 1997 the 1971 Fund Executive Committee considered a claim for loss of profit by a wholsale company located 450 km from the affected area, which sold a range of goods through a cash and carry system to some 1,700 customers in the hotel and catering trade and some 750 retailers throughout the United Kingdom. The Committee took the view that the company’s business did not form an integral part of the economic activity of the area affected by the spill, since only a very small part of its activity was carried out in that area, and that it was not dependent on the affected resource. The Committee noted that the company’s reduction in turnover in the affected area was a more indirect result of the reduction in tourism than losses suffered by hotels and restuarants, ie the company did not sell its goods directly to tourists but to other businesses which served tourists. The Committee considered that the loss allegedly suffered by the company could not be considered as damage caused by contamination and there decided to reject the claim.