Law loophole helps Shell win pollution case

A loophole in the law has resulted in a pollution charge against Shell Todd Oil Services being dismissed.

The company was charged under the Maritime Transport Act over the accidental spill of 10,109 litres of ethylene glycol from the Maui A platform, 19 nautical miles off the Taranaki coastline.

But the New Plymouth District Court was told that the Act applied only to the discharge of oil or oil waste from an offshore rig. Glycol is a chemical with anti-freeze properties.