Seoul - The captain of the oil tanker involved in a collision with a barge off South Korea's coast in late 2007 has been sentenced to a year and a half in jail, the daily The Korea Times reported Wednesday.

The report said the first officer of the Hong Kong-registered tanker Hebei Spirit received an 8-month jail term, with a state court in Taejon finding both having been negligent in carrying out their duties.

The sentencing came in an appeals case after the two men had initially been acquitted last June.

The captain, and Indian national, and the first officer were also each fined 20 million won (14,000 dollars). The owners of the tanker and of the barge were also each fined 30 million won.

On December 7, 2007, a barge being towed by two tugboats had broken loose and rammed into the tanker, which was lying at anchor.

Three holes were torn in the tanker's side, creating a spill of 12,500 tons of crude oil which went on to pollute some 300 kilometres of South Korean coastline.

While the tanker itself did not cause the accident, the court found that the vessel's crew had not acted quickly enough to take adequate measures in the collision aftermath. (dpa)