Who Has The Right To Limit? - Simon Rainey KC, Natalie Moore, Benjamin Coffer And Tom Bird

OVERVIEW

This limitation claim arose from a fire on the X-Press Pearl, which culminated in the sinking of the ship and her cargo on 2 June 2021 off Colombo, Sri Lanka. The claimants (who include the vessel's registered owners, bareboat charterers, and disponent owners) applied for and obtained a limitation decree limiting their liability in respect of any loss or damage arising out of or in connection with the casualty pursuant to Article 6 of the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976 (as amended). Those parties also constituted a limitation fund.

At the time of the casualty, the ship was carrying containers under a variety of contractual arrangements on behalf of Maersk, Bengal Tiger Line, and MSC. The question before the Court was whether these parties (each of which described itself as "slot charterer") were also entitled to limit their liability. This turned on whether the parties qualified as "shipowners" within the meaning of the