Dubai owner RV International is being sued for €18.5m ($18.9m) after a Maltese energy company alleged its tanker damaged a power cable by dragging its anchor in a March storm.
The Times of Malta said utility company Enemalta had filed court documents seeking to recoup repair costs of €49m, but this was reduced by the court.
Enemalta alleges the 35,500-dwt Chem P (built 1968, ex Chemical Pioneer) damaged an interconnector cable after losing power off Bahar ic-Caghaq.
The company will also have to provide an alternative source of power while repairs take place.
The cable is still functional, but work will be carried out later this year when demand for electricity is lower.
The tanker almost grounded on 19 March in heavy seas, but was stopped by tugs, which had to pull the ship against the weather to relieve tension from the anchor chain, which was lodged in the cable, the court heard.
The cable runs between Malta and Sicily.
Enemalta had secured an arrest warrant against the tanker for €30m, which was an earlier estimate of damages.
The ship remains anchored off the island.
Owner RV International had initially sought to lift the warrant but then filed to limit liability under the 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims.
Liability limited
The company’s lawyers said the maximum liability was just above €17.3m.
The court fixed the total at €18.5m after opposing lawyers argued for legal costs to be taken into account.
The ship was en route to Marsaxlokk from the Spanish port of Algeciras when the accident occurred.
RV International acquired the tanker as the US-flagged Chemical Pioneer from US Shipping Corp on an as-is basis in Philadelphia in November 2021.
After passing a US Coast Guard inspection with no deficiencies, the ship departed Philadelphia on 14 December last year, taking 42 days to cross the Atlantic before arriving in the Spanish port of Algeciras, where it spent 21 days before departing for Malta.
The Chem P was not believed to be carrying any cargo.
