INVESTIGATORS in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have promised to hand to prosecutors this week their final report into a collision between two tankers in the Gulf that has kept a Hong Kong captain detained there since March.
Captain Terry Lau Chung-hui, 45, has been held without charge in the port city of Dubai since the March 30 accident involving his 293,238-tonne supertanker Seki, managed by local World-Wide Shipping Agency, and the smaller UAE-registered Baynunah.
The accident caused the Seki to spill almost 16,000 litres of oil into the Gulf of Oman near the Emirate of Fujairah, damaging the coastline and hurting the local fishing trade.
The report, due to have been released last month, was completed several weeks ago but has been delayed for unspecified reasons. The shipping agency's lawyer, however, was told the report would be in the hands of prosecutors on December 22, a World-Wide spokesman said.
The investigation was launched to establish blame in order for criminal charges to be laid and so civil damages could proceed against the ship-owners.
Civil proceedings are already in progress between the two tanker owners.