MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company continues to deny culpability in the 2021 Orange County pipeline oil spill, despite accepting a proposal to jointly fund a settlement.
MSC-controlled Dordellas Finance Corp and Costmare-controlled Capetanissa Maritime agreed to pay a combined $45m in damages for the 558-barrel spill that fouled a section of the California coastline.
Dordellas’ 14,028-teu container ship MSC Danit (built 2009) and Capetanissa’s 9,469-teu container ship Beijing (built 2006) were accused of damaging the pipeline when they dragged their anchors across it during a storm in January 2021, about nine months before the spill.
