The upcoming clash between UK human rights law firm Leigh Day and Maran Tankers in the High Court in London could open the flood gates to ship breaking-related compensation claims.

Leigh Day is representing the widow of Kahalil Mollah, who died in an accident while demolishing a Maran Tankers vessel, the 300,000-dwt Ekta (built 1995), in Chattogram, Bangladesh.

It is the second such claim brought by Leigh Day. The first was for life-changing injuries suffered by Bangladesh yard worker Mohamed Edris while breaking up a containership formerly owned by Zodiac Maritime. Zodiac and Leigh Day came to a confidential settlement.

However, the issue of whether or not a claim of failure in duty of care against a shipowner for death or serious injury during demolition can be upheld was never tested.

This time around, the Mollah case looks like making it all the way to a court ruling.

Both parties have gone through the initial mediation process without success and, at the time of writing, were waiting for a date for an initial hearing.

Leigh Day already has a notable shipping scalp to its name. It successfully won $50m in compensation from trader Trafigura for victims of toxic waste dumped from its 31,250-dwt vessel Probo Koala (built 1989) in Abidjan in 2006.

No win, no fee

It was similar to the Maran case in that the claimants had no financial resources and the action was entirely funded by Leigh Day on a 'no-win, no-fee' basis.

In taking the Mollah case all the way to the High Court in London, the stakes are high for Leigh Day.

If it wins, the prize will not only be compensation for the victim’s relatives but also the prospect of bringing dozens of similar cases to court.

Leigh Day is already investigating other cases but has so far restricted prospective claims to companies registered in the UK.

However, the cost of failure will not only be hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, but an end to the hope of winning compensation for the victims of shipbreaking accidents.