TANKER LOSSES SUFFICIENTLY INSURED

LONDON-The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation says the liability exposures of the Russian tanker Nakhodka, which broke up in Japanese waters on Jan. 2, should be amply covered by the $195 million available from an insurance fund.

Most of the clean-up work has been completed, and the cost so far has been roughly estimated at $50 million, according to Joe Nichols, technical manager of the London-based ITOPF, which was appointed to coordinate and oversee pollution clean-up for the spill.

The remaining element of outstanding costs relates to the "damage component" of the spill (BI, Jan. 27), which consists mainly of the impact on local Japanese fisheries and the potential effects on tourism in the area.

These are not likely to bring the total insured bill up to the $200 million level, said Mr. Nichols.

He was responding after the Petroleum Assn. of Japan warned that claims resulting from the break-up in bad weather of the 1970-built Nakhodka could exceed the limit available through insurance and international compensation funds.

The first $2.2 million of pollution and injury costs arising out of the incident will be met by the U.K. P&I Club, which insure Prisco Traffic Ltd., the owners of the Nakhodka. The next approximately $192 million in costs will be borne by the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds, an alliance of government pollution funds.