A
UK High Court judge has ruled that the 74,247-dwt bulk carrier Panamax Alexander was responsible
for the five-vessel casualty that closed the Suez Canal for several hours
in July 2018, reports London's Lloyd's List.
The
incident occurred when a containership suffered engine failure and stopped
while part of a southbound convoy. The 5,086 TEU boxship Aeneas lost propulsion,
causing convoy participants Panamax Alexander, the 81,691-dwt bulker Sakizaya
Kalon, and the 55,831-dwt bulk ship Osios David to hit one another, forcing the
closure of the key waterway for several hours.
Tugs
were sent in to move the ships, but during the process, northbound 9,040 TEU NYK Orpheus hit Panamax Alexander, prompting three legal
actions.
The
first legal action was bought by the owners of the Sakizaya Kalon against the
owners of Panamax Alexander, the second legal action was from the owners of
Osios David against the owners of Panamax Alexander, and the third was from the
owners of Osios David against the owners of Sakizaya Kalon.
A
UK High Court hearing on October 5 ruled that Panamax Alexander's failure to
moor promptly was to blame for the accident.
"I
have no doubt that the first collision. Not merely provided the opportunity for
the later collisions but constituted the cause of them," said Justice Nigel John Teare.
"I,
therefore, request counsel to prepare draft orders in the three actions giving
effect to my decision that [Panama Alexander] is wholly responsible for all of
the collisions," the judge said.
The
court also decided there was no causative fault on the part of either the
Sakizaya Kalon or the Osios David.
The
ruling confirms the increasing inapplicability of the once-popular but now
hated last opportunity rule; a person who had the last opportunity to avoid an
accident is liable for it. It highlights that mariners aren't to blame when
placed in a dilemma by another's negligence.
The
owners of the Panamax Alexander claim their ship wasn't to blame, saying that
the Osios David and Sakizaya Kalon didn't inform of their intentions.
The
court decided the Panamax Alexander had failed to keep enough space between it
and Sakizaya Kalon.
The
Sakizaya Kalon and the Osios David had both managed to moor, and there was no
obvious reason why Panamax Alexander couldn't.
The
court found Osios David was at fault for failing to inform Sakizaya Kalon of
where it planned to moor. However, because Panamax Alexander couldn't show it
would have navigated any differently if it had known, that failure was not
causative.
The
decision will be the last case by Mr Justice Teare, who is retiring after more
than a decade as an Admiralty judge.
Source
: HKSG / Photo : Vessel Tracker.
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