Total asks French court to reverse ruling on 1999 oil spill

Total is set to ask the Cour de Cassation - France's highest appeals court - to overturn the conviction of negligence and a €375,000 fine.

The Paris-based company said international maritime accords disagree with French law on jurisdiction, and may hand over jurisdiction to Malta as the competent authority for further prosecution.

"It's a question which is purely legal," said Daniel Soulez-Lariviere, a lawyer for Total, before the Paris hearing.

"A French judge could have done what he wanted had the ship been French, but it was a foreign ship, so it was under international conventions."

The 'Erika' leaked some 20,000 tons of fuel into the sea after the vessel sank off the coast of Brittany in the northwest of France in a storm in December 1999.

The 24- year-old tanker, which was carrying 30,000 tons of fuel to Italy, broke in half during a violent storm.

While an Italian ship-safety inspector said the Erika was seaworthy, it was later found to have a rusted hull. The oil spill killed thousands of birds and polluted a 400 kilometer stretch of pristine coastline.

Total has so far spent €200 million for a clean-up following the disaster and has paid €171 million to affected communities and the French government under a January 2008 verdict, and hasn't sought to recover those damages, Soulez-Lariviere said.

The advocate general, an independent prosecutor for the Cour de Cassation, issued a report to the court agreeing with Total's argument on the "incompatibility" of French law with the international maritime accords and recommending it be cleared.

French legislators noted the discrepancy when voting on the 1983 law and decided they would renegotiate the international conventions if necessary, Soulez-Lariviere said.

The judges may issue a ruling within weeks.