French oil giant Total on Tuesday lost a bid to overturn its conviction for negligence in the 1999 sinking of the tanker Erika off the coast of Brittany, which caused widespread ecological damage.

Total was found guilty of failing to address maintenance problems when it chartered the 25-year-old tanker. A Paris appeals court confirmed the 2008 conviction and a fine of 375,000 euros ($500,000) imposed on Total and Italian ship evaluation company Rina, which had ruled the rusty boat to be seaworthy.

Presiding judge Joseph Valantin said the Erika went down as a "direct consequence of the serious rust corrosion" and this was caused by "insufficient maintenance of the ship."

Two fines of 75,000 euros for the owner and manager of the 25-year-old tanker were also confirmed.

Plaintiffs awarded

The court also boosted the compensation awarded to civil plaintiffs, including coastline communities, environmental groups and the French state, from 192 million to 200 million euros. Total has already paid 170 million to the plaintiffs.

The Erika broke in two off the French Atlantic coast in December 1999, spilling some 19,800 tons of heavy fuel oil which polluted 400 kilometers of coastline and killed tens of thousands of seabirds.

The sinking resulted in one of France's worst environmental disasters. Beach resorts and the fishing industry were particularly affected, crippling the local economy for years.

cmk/AFP/dpa
Editor: Susan Houlton