A court on the Isle of Man has placed caps on claims against two vessels involved in a deadly collision and sinking off Germany.
The decision by the UK island’s High Court of Justice came less than seven months after the 3,360-dwt general cargo ship Verity (built 2001) was lost in the North Sea, leading to the death of five crew members.
The Isle of Man-flagged ship, controlled by UK-based Casper Chartering, sank after a collision with Polsteam Shipping’s 38,100-dwt handysize bulker Polesie (built 2009) off Heligoland in October.
A legal notice published in TradeWinds shows that Casper secured a court order limiting liability to £1.29m ($1.64m).
Polsteam’ liability is limited to £10.3m.
The Polish shipowner has set up a limitation fund for the amount in the form of a letter of undertaking from Britannia P&I, the protection and indemnity insurer for the Bahamas-flag ship.
Claims must be filed by 13 July, according to the notices.
Liability limits for property claims in such incidents are calculated based on a ship’s tonnage under the 1996 protocol of the Convention on Maritime Claims.
The limits do not cover claims for loss of life or personal injury.
Only two seafarers on the Verity, which was classed by RINA and had P&I coverage from NorthStandard, survived the sinking.
The Polesie’s 22 crew members were unharmed, and the DNV-classed vessel was able to sail to port under its own power.
No accident investigation report has been filed in an International Maritime Organization casualties database, and the Isle of Man and the Bahamas have yet to publish reports.
Polsteam is represented in the case by Isle of Man law firm Cains, while Casper has Simcocks Advocates on its side.
