Mainland legal experts say it is highly unlikely that fish farmers and others affected by recent oil spills in the Bohai Sea will receive suitable, if any, compensation for the damage caused by marine pollution.
The pursuit of compensation, either by the victims themselves or by grass-roots rights groups acting on their behalf, looks likely to be hampered by legal restrictions and a lack of sincerity from the oil giants involved, they say.
In addition, the government's lack of motivation to help victims and the judiciary's lack of independence may deal the fatal blow to any hopes of crafting a compensation package comparable to that provided after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year. BP agreed to set up a US$20 billion disaster fund for damage claims, amid public pressure and the US government's intervention.
An area of more than 4,200 square kilometres - four times the size of Hong Kong - in the Bohai Sea was polluted by oil that leaked last month from offshore rigs owned by China National Offshore Oil Corp and its US operator, ConocoPhillips. It was China's largest offshore oilfield.
Although the full extent of the environmental damage has yet to be analysed, the first traces of the oil washed up on beaches in Hebei and Liaoning last week, prompting growing calls for payouts.
Earlier, fish farmers in Changdao, Shandong, had voiced optimism about taking polluters to court and receiving compensation, citing public pressure on a cover-up attempt that had forced CNOOC and ConocoPhillips to apologise. The public was not notified of the oil leaks until nearly one month after the first spill occurred on June 4, despite both firms and the State Oceanic Administration being aware of the disaster.