A relatively modest tanker spill 17 years ago is shaping up to be at the centre of a landmark legal battle between the Gard marine insurance group and the International Oil Spill Compensation (IOPC) Funds.

TradeWinds has written extensively about the grounding of the 86,400-dwt Nissos Amorgos(built 1988) in Venezuela’s Maracaibo Channel in 1997 and the subsequent twists and turns of an incident that is now heading for London’s High Court.

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