Victims of the country's worst oil spill in 2007 will be able to receive speedy trials for their damages suits, judicial officials said Sunday, amid legal wrangling over compensation that has dragged on for years.

The spill occurred when a Samsung Heavy Industries barge carrying a construction crane broke free and rammed an anchored Hong Kong-registered tanker in December 2007, spilling more than 12,000 tons of crude oil into the West Sea near the coastal county of Taean. 

Miles of beaches, notably in Taean, about 110 kilometers southwest of Seoul, were engulfed by the spillage, decimating the region's once-vibrant fishing and tourism industries.

The Office of Court Administration under the Supreme Court said it has drastically streamlined court procedures for numerous damage suits filed by some 110,000 victims, in accordance with a special act on the oil spill.

Under the act, a lower court should make a ruling within 10 months of the filings, officials said. An appellate court and the top court should deliver rulings within five months of previous verdicts.

Thus, the plaintiffs of the damage suits are expected to receive their final verdicts by March 2015, at the latest, the office said.

Little progress has been made in securing compensation for victims of the oil spill. 

In January, a district court appraised that the spill caused
734 billion won (US$694 million) worth of damage, marking the first court's assessment in five years.

The Seosan branch of Daejeon District Court ruled that Samsung Heavy Industries and Hebei Spirit Shipping Co., owner of the tanker, are liable for the incident.

The court's appraised value of the financial damage to residents, however, ignited controversy due to the wide gap between the court's assessment and the amount demanded in compensation by the victims. (Yonhap news)