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Case:
Version:
ISSN 123-456-789
IA0011
11/17/2020
Case
Negotiate in
a crisis:
Oil disaster
in the Argentine sea
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL PARTIES
It was five a.m. on 23 March 2016, and the Estrella de Mar (Star of the Sea) ship, one of the
five freighters that Seal operates in Argentina, had started its journey from the Almirante
Storni dock, in Puerto Madryn, Province of Chubut. It was traveling towards the Petrochemical
Pole of the city of Bahía Blanca, in the south of the province of Buenos Aires. Seal had one of its
most significant refinery plants in that town. There was little wind at dawn with a dense fog
bank, and therefore the visibility was low. However, the captain had decided to start the journey
at the scheduled time because from Bahía Blanca, they had insisted on receiving the shipment of
3,000 tons of crude oil as soon as possible.
After the first 20 minutes of the journey, one of the Estrella de Mar seamen sighted, despite
the dense fog, a large ship that was traveling in a direct collision path at them. For some
reason, he did not know, they had not been alerted to the presence of that ship: a Germanflagged fishing boat named Sea Patagonia. The situation was not yet worrying, because
they had a few minutes to turn and avoid the impact. However, when the captain received the
AUTHORSHIP
CREDITS
This case was prepared by Professor Roberto Luchi and Research Assistant Tomás Garzón de la Roza, both from the IAE Business
School, Universidad Austral. Teaching cases are developed solely as the basis for class discussion and are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management. To order copies or request permission to reproduce
materials, contact coleccion.cladea@gmail.com.
Copyright © 2020 IAE Business School, Universidad Austral. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means -electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise- without the permission of the copyright holder.
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Case:
IA0011
warning, he tried unsuccessfully to communicate with the German crew of the Sea Patagonia,
and the trajectory of both ships maintained a course such that, 12 minutes from the first
warning, the Sea Patagonia rammed starboard to the Estrella de Mar.
Because of the structure of the ship, from the moment the hull suffered significant damage, it
was inevitable that a part of its cargo would spill into the water. Therefore, immediately after the
crash, and following the company’s emergency protocol, the captain of the Estrella de Mar
notified the port authorities and Seal authorities in the area. Within a few hours, it was a
priority to set up the Pollution Spill Control Center (Cecodecon1), which would command the
disaster response tasks. It was still premature to determine what nature of damage the spill
would cause, and to what extent the situation could be contained. However, the potentially
damaging effects of the oil spill on the marine flora and fauna of the area could markedly affect
the communities of Puerto Madryn and Puerto Pyramids, the significant populations in the
New Gulf.
Measured in terms of the spilled load, it was one of the most severe accidents in history in the
Argentine Republic. To date, the country had enjoyed unprecedented luck. The captain did not
know for sure, but he sensed it: he had no memory of any similar incidents in the country,
although he did know that massive spills had occurred internationally. He had worked in the
oil industry a little over 30 years and remembered very well that it was around 1989, during the
first Persian Gulf War that serious contingency plans began to be developed. A factor that gave
the captain hope was the low speed that each ship was traveling at the moment of impact, and
the orientation of the break. The load may have spilled slowly, which allowed very good options
to minimize its effects.
Just 35 minutes after the collision, the company authorities in Buenos Aires received notice from
the Puerto Madryn port authorities, where Cecodecon was slowly beginning to operate. As soon
as they received the information, the local CEO, accompanied by two senior executives, decided
to travel to the accident area to manage the crisis. They did this because the incident threatened
the reputation and entire operation of the company in the country and region.
While local CEO Carlos Moldes moved to Puerto Madryn, despite his concern, he had begun to
delineate the agenda of possible actors who would surely be called upon to try to reach an agreement on the action plan to resolve the crisis. He was sure that on occasions like this, it would be
the National Government that would convene a negotiation meeting to handle the environmental crisis. In his list, they appeared like possible candidates, such as the national
government, the municipal government, some environmental groups, and the port authorities.
According to weather conditions, sea currents, and winds, the spilled oil could travel to open water
or one of the closest surrounding coastlines, in a given accident. In this case, the accident occurred
within the New Gulf, and part of the crude oil could be mobilized towards the southern coast of the
1
p. 2
Contingency Plan: Environmental Protection Regime; CINTRA, Argentinian business that works to contain oil spills; document published in
http://www.cintra.com.ar; access on: March 2016.
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Carlos Ameghino Isthmus. This connects the Valdés peninsula with the continent and separates
the New Gulf (site of the crash) with the San José Gulf, or further west towards Puerto Madryn.
Company Background
Seal had been operating in Argentina since 1914 and was one of the companies with the highest
turnover in the market for gasoline and lubricants locally and internationally. It opened its first
processing plant in the Buenos Aires town of Dock Sud in 1936, and by 2016, it had an annual
turnover of over $ 7,000 million annually, thanks to its 811 service stations.
p. 3
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Like the rest of the big players in the international oil extraction and refining market, Seal had
experience in maritime claims, but not in Argentine territory. The company’s management at the
global level had promoted numerous training procedures to avoid accidents and had developed
contingency plans following international industry standards. The company’s top management
did not ignore any possible slip-ups because the reputation of the corporation, and themselves,
could be at the mercy of environmental organizations, and the media. Therefore, in the face of
any serious accident, they would not be indifferent or allow all decisions to go through local
management, but instead would be directly involved in crisis management.
Oil activity in Argentina
In total, there are 24 sedimentary basins in Argentina. Until 2008, only five of them were
active: Northwest, San Rafael, Neuquina, Gulf of San Jorge, and Austral or Magallanes.
Together, these deposits occupied 22% of the 3,118,260 square kilometers, including the
maritime zone, with hydrocarbon potential.2 Of the 19 inactive basins, the majority remained
under-explored or directly unexplored. If one took into account that the exploration of active
deposits was not being capitalized in terms of both surface and depth, then, only 8% of the
country’s oil potential was being exploited.
The reasons for this deficiency were attributed to declining investment of infrastructure and
exploratory activities, aggrevated at the beginning of the decade by the economic crisis
and later stimulated by tariff restrictions imposed on the commercialization of fuels.
Taking into account that the Argentine energy matrix depended mainly on hydrocarbons - gas
at 48% and oil at 37%
3
- this situation led Argentina to suffer serious energy supply
problems. The availability of gas and fuel had been restricted for industrial activity during
seasons of low temperatures, given that, faced with shortages, the national government
policy was to not risk domestic supply.
Proven oil reserves fell by 3.7% between 2007 and 2008, while the probable and possible ones
decreased 12.3% and 21.4%, respectively.4 In the period between 1998 and 2004, the
production of crude oil in Argentina declined from a maximum of 50 million cubic meters, to
40 million, with a relationship between reserves and constant production around nine years.5
To counteract this deficit, the national government had presented some years before, in May
2005, a bill to implement a program to promote the exploration and exploitation of
hydrocarbons throughout the Argentine territory. The two chambers of the National Congress
had given force to the bill in October 2006, guaranteeing differential economic incentives to
companies that were willing to form a partnership with the state Energía Argentina S.A.
(ENARSA) to carry out exploratory activities. The benefits included the early return of the valuePetrotecnia; June 2005; Special Dossier: Situación actual de la exploración y explotación de petróleo y gas en la Argentina. Elaborated from a
report by the Argentinian Oil & Gas Institute for the Energy Commission of the House of Deputies of the Nation.
2
Petrotecnia; June 2005.
Oil and gas reserves and resources by basin, province, concession and deposit, until the end of the useful life as of 31/12/2008, Ministry of
Energy, Ministry of Planning, Republic of Argentina.
3
4
p. 4
5
Detailed information in the Bill presented by the National Government to the Honorable National Congress on 18 May 2005, page 2.
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Case:
IA0011
added tax (VAT) for capital goods, three years of exemption for the minimum presumed income
tax and exemption of payment on import duties, among others.6
Betting on getting good business in the future, Seal participated in the bidding after the bill was
approved, with a particular interest in the Valdez Peninsula basin. They obtained the
authorization to start the tasks in February 2007, and taking into account the economic
advantages, accelerated the exploration to start producing in a few years. Finally, in the first
days of 2014, investment and perseverance were rewarded: having explored the area for more
than five years, they were in a position to obtain crude oil. The national government granted
the authorization to begin the extraction in the first authorized borehole within the continental
zone. The company is developing three offshore platforms, although authorizations for
operations are still pending.
The province of Chubut and the department of Biedma
The exploitation of mines and quarries - within which the hydrocarbon industry is included was the first economic activity in the province of Chubut, and constituted 18.2% of its Gross
Domestic Product (GDP). At the national level, the Patagonian province was the one that
concentrated the largest proven oil reserves, with around 174 million cubic meters7, always
within the San Jorge Basin, and contributed 12% of national oil production and 2% of gas
production.
However, in the department of Biedma, it was surpassed by three other activities: tourism,
fishing, and aluminum production. Puerto Madryn, the principal city in the department, was
one of the most important cities in the province of Chubut and had a population of almost
8,000 inhabitants.8 Established as a first-rate municipality, Nicolás Larriera was elected
mayor one year before the accident. The core of his electoral promises, and
his consequent management of the municipality, was based on the promotion of tourism in
the area. However, he also did not want to neglect productive investments. The city had
two protected areas: El Doradillo, designed for the sighting of the southern right whale from
the coast, and Punta Loma, a marine station for maned sea lions with colonies of South
American gulls. Madryn was also the “National Capital of Diving,” a sport that attracted
many tourists from around the country and abroad during the summer. It also had the
oceanographic museum and the first National Ecocentro dedicated to the study of the marine
ecosystem.9
Puerto Pirámides, on the other hand, was a more modest locality, with a population that did
not reach 1,000 inhabitants - 663 in 200810 - with a vital tourist movement similar to that of
Puerto Madryn. The most active tourist season in the region was not limited to the summer
period, but also included the whale-watching period, from June to December.
Idem 4.
Idem 3.
8
General Directorate of Statistics y Censuses, Province of Chubut, Municipality of Puerto Madryn, estimates based in the Nacional Census INDEC 2001.
6
7
9
p. 5
Idem 7.
Idem 7.
10
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Oil spills
Oil activity grew steadily in the last century, and therefore, the transport of crude oil to refineries
became an increasingly important link in the chain. While all transport routes were in use, the
continuous flow pipelines and large capacity tankers were the most efficient methods.
The spillage of crude or refined oil had occurred with varying magnitudes throughout the history
of the activity and by different causes. In the period between 1974 and 1998, the leading cause of
spills exceeding 700 tons had been the stranding of tankers, with 35%, followed by crashes with
29%, and breaks in the hull of the ship at 13%. Meanwhile, the loading and unloading processes
only accounted for 6% of the causes of accidents.11 Although the evolution of technology and
processes had favored safer oil management, always intending to prevent disasters, industry
players recognized that eventualities remained a risk for which preparations were necessary.
The most massive spill in history took place during the Persian Gulf War, in 1991, due to the
military actions of the Iraqi Army. In January of that year, as part of their military strategy,
they deliberately caused the oil spill of the Isla del Mar terminal, intending to stop the
advancing U.S. Army Marine Corps. The estimates of the extent of the incident were between
136,000 tons and 1,5 million tons of crude oil spilled.12
Environmental consequences
Exposure to this type of substance put the fauna of the region in danger.The oil could penetrate
the plumage of birds, which impairs their thermal insulation capacity and leaves them vulnerable
to temperature fluctuations.At the same time, when grooming, they typically ingested the substances,
with the consequent risks to the kidneys, liver, and digestive tract.13 Marinemammals such as seals,
sea lions, and whales suffered similar temperature problems.
Furthermore, the oil that floated on the water surface limited the entry of light to the seafloor,
and this adversely affected the processes of photosynthesis of seaweed and phytoplankton. Fish
also ingested crude oil, and then passed it to their predators, affecting the entire food chain of
the ecosystem. The oil also impregnated the sediments of the beaches and coasts, which
therefore caused their closure, because direct contact with human skin caused health risks.
These damages triggered significant economic losses. Besides clean-up costs and environ-mental
restoration, there was an inevitable impact on economic activities. The closing of beaches and
other tourist centers added to the negative publicity and could hit deeply the influx of visitors.
In addition, fishing should relocate to eliminate dangers of fish poisoning.
International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA); A Guide to Contingency Planning for Oil Spills on Water; Second Edition, March 2000; London, United Kingdom.
11
12
p. 6
13
George Draffan, “Major Oil Spills” (HTML), Endgame. http://www.endgame.org/oilspills.htm, access through Wikipedia.
Untold Seabird Mortality due to Marine Oil Pollution, Elements Online Environmental Magazine. Query through Wikipedia.
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Response strategies
When spills occurred, it was necessary to agree on a response strategy. There was not a single path
to the emergency solution. Ecological, commercial, and recreational concerns could be addressed
to a diff rent extent according to the priorities of the actors involved. The process of seeking a
balance between these three variables that would try to satisfy everyone was called Net Environmental Benefit Analysis (NEBA), or in Spanish, Análisis Neto de Beneficio Medioambiental.14 The
standard against which the proposed response strategies should be measured, under this
procedure, included absolute non-intervention, or in other words, to let oil degrade naturally.
Judgment of the adequacy of the clean-up techniques to be adopted should take into account
what benefits they brought or what damages they avoided in the three dimensions.
The first clean-up techniques deployed in the case of a crude oil spill included the use of
absorbent sponges, oceanic floating barriers, and sorbent barriers. In other cases, the use of
mechanisms to skim the surface of the water and lift the oil, or hoses that filtered the oil from
the water helped. Another technique of more restricted use was the burning of oil that lay on
the sea surface, a procedure that produced smoke and could contaminate the air temporarily.
Finally, there were two chemical techniques to mitigate the spread of hydrocarbons or their
dissolution: the use of microorganisms (biological agents) or dispersants (detergents). The
latter, although they encapsulated oil and favored its mobilization, could also push it towards
the seafloor and cause severe damage to its vegetation.
The negotiation
The National Government had decided to hold a meeting at a hotel in Rawson, the capital of
Chubut, at which a decision on the course of action during the emergency would be made. As
provided for in the particular law within the Hydrocarbons Promotion Regime for the Puerto
Madryn area, instituted in part by demand of environmental groups, upon the occurrence of an
accident, the authorization to operate was suspended until the following points were negotiated,
which are further detailed later:
≈
Emergency level to be declared.
≈
Clean-up operation to be deployed.
≈
Additional environmental recovery work.
≈
Regulations on the port area.
≈
Compensation mechanisms for affected communities
The agreement to be negotiated was submitted to the Hydrocarbons Commission, formed in the
National Congress to act as a mechanism for the control of authorizations. The first two points
were essential, and therefore consensus had to be reached no matter what. Once established,
14
p. 7
Idem 9.
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IA0011
points three, four, and five would go through negotiation. To resume operations after a
mandatory 60-day break, the company had to reach a consensus on at least two of those three
points. The company would present a proposal for each vote, which had options regarding two
issues.
While all parties had agreed to attend the meeting, it was not necessary to negotiate as a single
group during the entire session. Parties could withdraw from the talks if they wished. In
addition, they were free to meet privately in smaller groups at any time.
There would be two rounds of mandatory voting for each set of issues (1 and 2 on the one hand,
3, 4, and 5 on the other), scheduled for the meeting. The first two would take place at 15 and 30
minutes after the meeting began. To cover the rest of the issues, there would be a vote within
50 minutes of talks; and a final round, at 80 minutes. In each of the scheduled voting, Seal put
before the group a proposal that included all the issues. The required votes were subject by
subject.
Additional votes could be taken at any time during the meeting, but the three rounds of
scheduled voting must be respected. However, if a project received sufficient approval votes of
the Parliamentary Commission in the first round, the parties could choose to withdraw
from the second round of voting. In addition to these mandatory votes, any party could
invoke informal (but mandatory) votes. Apart from Seal’s obligation to propose packages in
the four scheduled votes, and the obligation of the parties to cast their votes, the
option on the negotiation and voting processes depended entirely on the participants as a
group. (Given the narrow time-frame for negotiations, it may be useful to take some care in the
process planning time).
The parties
In addition to the company, there were four actors participating in the Rawson negotiation,
with different interests at stake, namely:
1. National government. The envoy of the National Government, Luisa Fernández
Reyes, had two primary objectives during the negotiation: (1) protect the political
credit of the current administration, that set out the hydrocarbon promotion plan and
licensed Seal’s work; and (2) get the company to finance the rescue operations alone.
2.
Municipal government. The local mayor had to protect the economic activity of the area,
which was primarily tourism, and respond to the interests of the Neighborhood
Assembly, which was its thermometer of district popularity.
3.
Patagonia Verde Association. This environmental group, with different chapters
throughout the Argentine Patagonia region, sought to ensure the most significant
investment in environmental recovery tasks and, if possible, that the company cease
operations in the area.
4.
Port Authority. The general manager of the port, Sergio Seraldi, sought to preserve the
port activity in Madryn. If the closure of the port was too lengthy, or if infrastructure
p. 8
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improvements that gave more guarantees were not achieved, the port would surely
lose several operations at the hands of Rawson and Comodoro Rivadavia cities.
The performance of two key actors, not present at the negotiating table, should also be taken into
account. First, the Neighborhood Assembly that had functioned in the municipality of Puerto Madryn since 2002, commanded by a council of three-member delegates, elected for periods of two
years in open elections. They met weekly to discuss issues of different nature.
The media also played a fundamental role in cases of crisis or disaster, such as an oil spill. This
case was no exception: as soon as there was notification of the incident, the most critical media
in the country mobilized their production equipment to the area to provide more excellent coverage. The support of society and public opinion on the objectives of each of the actors would be
increased or decreased according to the type of coverage through the reporting of the accident.
Negotiation Issues
Subject 1. Emergency level to declare
The size, geographic location, and temporality of a spill were unpredictable. For that reason, to
address a spill adequately, the concept of Tiered Response15 was introduced. That is a stepped
response by tiers. The utilization of this is to classify risks of spillage according to magnitude and
proximity to the company’s facilities. The emergency strategies were then divided into three different levels:
Tier 1. Small local spills. It covered operations in the company’s facilities or shared with
other operators. The company had general control over the procedures, personnel, and equipment available, so it was probably not necessary to involve other actors beyond complying with
a legal warning or reporting regulations. Typically, it was applied in cases of transfer between
ships, loading, and unloading.
Financing: Normally, the company that owns the cargo fully finances the operation. Some participation of the municipal government could be negotiated.
Tier 2. Medium spills. It was used for spills in locations where the company had limited control, and the magnitude of the incident was more significant than expected. It typically occurred
in estuaries, coastal waters, or bays. Because of the risks that it entailed for local facilities, the
Government usually took control and coordination of operations.
Financing: The municipal government and the company jointly financed it. The presumption
was that the latter absorbed around 60% of the cost.
p. 9
15
Idem 11.
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Tier 3. Large spills. This tier would be claims that were greater than the previous two
levels, and could exceed national borders. This level should be integrated into national
emergency plans.
Financing: The national state and the company that owns the cargo, with percentages to negotiate, would finance it jointly and the help of a unique international fund dedicated for these
cases could be requested.
Subject 2. Deployment of the type of clean-up operation
A quick assessment of the economic, environmental, and social consequences of the spill should
be drafted in order to adopt a specific response strategy. Priorities could vary between:
a.
Urgent recovery of tourism and commercial activity. To prepare the entire area
in the shortest possible time, it was necessary to adopt an aggressive clean-up strategy,
making a large number of economic resources available to the operators. This included
the burning of oil and the use of chemical dispersants and microorganisms. Although
the reopening of the area for tourism within approximately three months was
achievable, the products and procedures used could have long-term detrimental effects
on the seafloor and water quality.
≈ Investment in clean-up: average.
≈ Tourism opening: fast (three months)
≈ Environmental protection: important (short term); doubtful (long term).
b.
Maximum preservation of the environment. In contrast to the first option, in
this case, the strategy implied a commitment to long-term monitoring, the closure of all
tourist activity, and the use of large amounts of supplies and personnel for clean-up by
non-invasive methods. This alternative was the most expensive, not only because of the
investment in clean-up but also because the interruption of tourist activities would last
for at least one year.
≈ Investment in clean-up: very high.
≈ Opening to tourism: undetermined (at least one year).
≈ Environmental protection: maximum (short and long term).
c.
Intermediate ecosystem recovery. In this case, the designed operation was to use
cleaning methods similar to those of the ‘a’ option. (Although somewhat more expensive) moreover, to concentrate eff orts in coastal areas and on the perimeter of the accident. The closure for public access was limited to contaminated areas to avoid health
p. 10
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hazards for a more extended period. This option included additional times for the
natural degradation of crude oil.
≈ Investment in clean-up: high.
≈ Opening to tourism: intermediate (six to eight months, minimum).
≈ Environmental protection: undetermined.
d.
Natural degradation of oil. It was the cheapest option. The carrying out of minimal
clean-up, installation of networks, and absorbents and projection of the most exposed
areas were performed. The total closure of access for people to the coastal and contaminated areas was established for an indeterminate period. Typically, this strategy was
adopted by permanent monitoring, with the aim of not damaging further chemicals and
unnatural interventions.
≈ Investment in clean-up: low.
≈ Opening to tourism: undetermined.
≈ Environmental protection: undetermined.
Subject 3. Subsequent environmental recovery work
In addition to the clean-up work, the parties involved would agree on greater environmental
care, which would include permanent research tasks to check the quality of water and the
health of the local flora and fauna.
a.
No further work would be done unless justified. The assumption was that clean-up work
decided in the first instance would be sufficient for the environment to recover from the
spill.
b.
An annual environmental control would be done by hiring a company specialized in
this type of task. In the winter months, findings would be sent to the team for
measurements and some light clean-up work.
c.
An environmental monitoring center would be established, with qualified professionals
from one of the leading national universities. The objective of the center would be to
carry out permanent damage controls on water quality, maritime soil, and the health
of the fauna of the area.
d.
An environmental monitoring center with the same characteristics described in ‘b’ would
be established, and a commission of ongoing work, equipped and trained to carry out
additional tasks of cleaning and rescue of endangered animals, would also be hired. The
minimum time-frame for this commission would be 24 months.
p. 11
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Subject 4. Special provisions in the port area
Although the causes of the incident were not fully identified during the time of negotiation, it was
likely that some of the port’s telecommunications equipment had failed. Therefore, part of the
conversations involved making decisions regarding the use of Puerto Madryn as a cargo
terminal for the oil industry. These are the options to consider for the matter:
a.
The port would be kept closed for cargo operations of any kind, indefinitely, even after the
time set for cleaning operations. The port was considered not to meet the requirements
of infrastructure, security, and technical capacity to operate. All companies working with
the local port should redirect their cargo through other provincial ports.
b.
The port would is closed for oil cargo operations for an indefinite period, although not
the rest of the cargo. Even if the Seal Company were to operate again, its cargo and that
of any producer in the area would be sent through nearby ports such as Rawson or Comodoro Rivadavia. Madryn did not comply with the safety conditions for handling highly
toxic cargoes such as oil so was not considered.
c.
An investment was made for the total modernization of the port, and once the new equipment was installed, all cargo operations, including oil operations, would typically resume. If the Seal company was able to validate its extraction in the area, it could continue
sending its cargo to Bahía Blanca through the same terminal. The investment was through a soft-rate loan granted by the national government.
d.
An investment like the one detailed in point ‘b’, but paid for by a company loan, would
be paid with discounts on port operation fees in a term agreed between the parties.
Subject 5. Economic compensation to local communities
There was a protocol to which almost all companies and many countries attached, and this process traced the first levels of economic compensation provided in the face of an oil spill incident.
In this case, it was a medium or long-term negotiation because it conformed to the ‘valid compensation claims.’ This came out of the emergency of the moment but based on experiences,
and it was a requirement of the National Government to establish a pre-agreement on the
predisposition towards compensation, with the following options:
a.
The company would offer compensation before the corresponding judicial decisions, in
accordance with the criteria of the international protocols and with the limit for civil liability16 to each victim. For that, an application process opened 18 months after the accident, for a period of 120 days. A Private Hearing would then be held at 30 months, in
which the results of the requests would be communicated.
In spills of up to 5,000 tons, companies could not ignore their objective (guilty) responsibility, but set a limit considering that the accident
was a force majeure. This limit was USD $ 4,5 million, in accordance with the provisions of IPIECA.
16
p. 12
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Case:
b.
IA0011
The company would agree on the compensation through a system of applications that
would culminate in a public hearing with the victims. Also involved in the entire process would be a delegate of the Neighborhood Assembly and an official of the national
government to oversee the company’s decisions. Twelve months after the accident, the
presentation of applications would be opened for 90 days through a procedure designed
by the company for the victims, and the hearing then held 18 months after the accident.
c.
The compensation from the company would be subject to the determination of the courts.
There would be no prior proposals from the company.
p. 13
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