MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. -v- Stolt
Tank Containers B.V. and others 'The MSC Flaminia
[2022] EWHC 2746 (Admlty)
The MSC Flaminia and much of its cargo was badly damaged by a
container explosion and subsequent fire-fighting efforts. Its
owner's claim against the time charterer (MSC) for breach of
the obligation not to ship dangerous cargo was upheld in
arbitration.
MSC sought to limit its liability under the Amended 1976
Limitation Convention. It is of course well established that a
charterer cannot limit its liability for damage to the ship
(The CMA Djakarta and The Ocean Victory). Undeterred, MSC
claimed that it could nonetheless limit its liability in relation
to several heads of loss associated with that damage, including
salvage charges, ship repair costs and the costs of removing cargo,
damaged cargo, waste and firefighting water from the vessel.
