Shipbuilding: Can I Have A Refund?
In Havila Kystruten AS v Abarca Compania de Seguros AS,¹ in which Watson Farley & Williams LLP represented the successful Norwegian shipowner, an English court has provided helpful and very detailed guidance on a number of issues relating to the parties’ rights to terminate shipbuilding contracts as well as the nature and scope of refund guarantees.BackgroundRefund guarantees are the lifeblood of shipbuilding, providing invaluable security to owners/buyers who must usually cash fund a significant proportion of the price of newbuildings during the construction phase (usually at least 40%)…
Insurer Must Pay Spanish Claim in Galicia Oil Spill, EU Court Says
Spain on Monday won backing from Europe's top court in its mutlimillion euros damage claim against The London Steam-Ship Owners Mutual Insurance Association for a massive oil spill on its northwestern coast two decades ago.The 2002 sinking of the Greek oil tanker Prestige, which was sailing to Gibraltar, released an estimated 63,000 tones of foul-smelling black fuel along the Galicia coast and forced the closure of Spain's richest fishing grounds.It led to a lengthy dispute between The London Steam-Ship Owners' Mutual Insurance Association Limited…
ICS Criticises 'Prestige’ Judgement by Spanish Court
At a meeting of the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPCF) this week, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has strongly criticised the judgement of the Spanish Supreme Court in the ‘Prestige’ Case. This judgement (in January 2016, but discussed by the IOPC Funds this week) overturned that of a lower Spanish Court, in La Coruña in 2013, instead finding the Master criminally liable for damages to the environment and sentencing him to two years’ imprisonment (albeit likely to be suspended). It further held that the misconduct deprived the shipowner of the right to limit liability for pollution damage under the 1992 Civil Liability Convention (the “CLC”).
Spanish Court Sentences Prestige Master to Prison Term
Spain's Supreme Court sentenced the captain of the Prestige oil tanker, which sank off Spain's northwestern coast in 2002, covering thousands of kilometres of coastline in fuel oil, to two years in prison on Tuesday. The captain, Apostolos Mangouras, was convicted of recklessness resulting in catastrophic environmental damage, according to a statement by the court, overturning a previous sentence which cleared him of criminal responsibility. The sinking of the Greek tanker, which was sailing to Gibraltar, released an estimated 63,000 tones of foul-smelling black fuel along the Galicia coast and forced the closure of the country's richest fishing grounds.
Spanish Court Orders Search of Ships
A Spanish court has ordered police to capture and search two vessels belonging to a Florida firm that recently announced it had found a shipwreck in the Atlantic Ocean laden with an estimated $500m worth of Colonial-era treasure. The court in the southern port city of Cadiz instructed police to capture the vessels should they leave the British colony of Gibraltar, on Spain's southern tip, and enter Spanish waters. The reports came out late Tuesday night after the court had closed and it was not immediately possible to confirm them. The two ships, "Odyssey Explorer" and "Ocean Alert," belong to Odyssey Marine Exploration and are believed to have been involved in the exploration that led to the discovery of the treasure disputed by Spain. Spain last month filed claims in a U.S.
