Court 'silent' about spill suit

BEIJING - A Chinese maritime court is staying silent about a lawsuit that has been filed against the two giant energy companies believed to be responsible for the ongoing oil leak in Bohai Bay.

The Qingdao Maritime Court has declined to comment about the case or to confirm if the suit against the US oil company ConocoPhillips and the State-run China National Offshore Oil Corp has been accepted, said Jia Fangyi, a lawyer representing 30 Shandong province fishermen in the suit, on Wednesday. Jia said that reticence is a reaction to the wide effects the case is likely to have on the public.

The Bohai Bay oil spill has lasted for nearly five months and polluted about 6,200 square kilometers of water there, an area about nine times the size of Singapore. It is also believed to have harmed thousands of fishermen.