Court throws out Spain lawsuit against ABS

Court throws out Spain lawsuit against ABS    A U.S. District Court has ruled that Spain can't sue the American Bureau of Shipping over a 2002 accident involving an oil tanker certified by ABS, according to a Bloomberg report this week.
   The sinking of Prestige in Spanish territorial waters led to the discharge of millions of gallons of oil 140 miles off the country's coast. Spain had sought $1 billion from Houston-based ABS, which certified the tanker for design, structure and condition. The government alleged the bureau was 'was reckless in certifying the single-hulled tanker Prestige as fit to carry fuel,' the Bloomberg report said.
   U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain knocked back the lawsuit in a Manhattan court, the second time she has thrown the case out. In 2008, she rejected the lawsuit by ruling her court had no jurisdiction over the case, a decision that was overturned in a federal appeals court.
   In the second ruling, on Tuesday, Swain 'disagreed with Spain in ruling that, under U.S. law, companies that act recklessly in certifying ships owe no duty to coastal nations,' the report said.
   The Prestige was chartered by Swiss company Crown Resources when it suffered structural failures, broke in two and sank. The ship owner at the time, Mare Shipping, was not named as a defendant in the case.