A court in northern China’s Tianjin on Tuesday ruled against a lawsuit by local fishermen who demanded US oil giant ConocoPhillips pay more than 1 million yuan in compensation for the oil spill in Bohai Bay in 2011.

Five Chinese fishermen from Tianjin filed the lawsuit against ConocoPhillips in 2015, claiming that the oil spill harmed their harvest of fish.

The US company, together with China National Offshore Oil Corp, were held responsible for the contamination of over 6,200 square kilometers of water in the Bohai Bay in 2011.

According to the court, ConocoPhillips has hence offered compensation of 1 billion yuan and 1.68 billion yuan to China’s agricultural and oceanic authorities, respectively. The compensation to the agricultural ministry is for fishing interests and resources in Hebei and Liaoning.

In response to the allegation by the fishermen that the oil spill led to a reduced harvest, the company cited national fishery data to argue that the oil spill did not cause a drastic change in Tianjin. The court therefore ruled against the local fishermen.

However, the fishermen insist that they are the victims and will continue to appeal.