Royal Dutch Shell may face a criminal investigation and hefty fines in the Scottish courts for its oil leak, which is still trickling into the North Sea.
Shell is currently working to stop 4,500 barrels still in the pipeline from leaking into the sea. Photo: REUTERS
By Rowena Mason: 7:49PM BST 17 Aug 2011
The Government said last night it will make recommendations to the Scottish Procurator Fiscal about whether to prosecute Shell, as its inspectors began to investigate what went wrong on the Gannet Alpha platform’s pipeline.
Hugh Shaw, the Government’s representative for maritime salvage and intervention, said he believed the leak was now “under control”, though it is still leaking around one barrel per day into the sea.
He became involved in the operation on Friday night, three days after the leak started, when it became clear there was “potential for significant pollution”.