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Container ship explosion major accident! Freight forwarder huge compensation of $0.29 billion...
May 27,2024
Recently, the protracted legal case surrounding the fatal incident of the "MSC Flaminia" ship ended with the freight forwarding Stolt-Nielsen agreeing to pay a $0.29 billion settlement.
In 2012, MSC chartered "MSC Flaminia" container ship encountered a fatal fire while sailing in the Atlantic Ocean. This disaster not only caused the death of three crew members, but also caused widespread concern in the global shipping logistics industry.
After the fire accident, a long litigation process about liability and legal compensation began.
Stolt-Nielsen Group, a global chemicals logistics giant, notified the US court this week that the two sides had reached a settlement in the long-standing case and agreed to pay up to $0.29 billion in damages, admitting some responsibility in the accident.
While the specific terms of the settlement are confidential, the amount of the settlement was disclosed in the Stolt-Nielsen first quarter 2024 results. This performance report shows that the Norwegian companyreceived $0.133 billion from its insurance company, for partial settlement of claims by MSC Flaminia.
The U.S. Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in 2018 on the devastating fire on the July 2012 MSC Flaminia, finding Deltech Tank, a manufacturer of dangerous goods and a freight forwarder, Containers responsible for the fire.
However, Deltech and Stolt appealed the ruling.
But by July 2023,The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the 2018 decision on the initial ruling on the 2012 events at the MSC Flaminia.and clearly defined their respective proportions of responsibility:
Freight forwarder Stolt is responsible for 45% of the responsibility, while shipper Deltech is responsible for 55%. The carrier MSC, the ship owner Conti, the ship operator NSB, the terminal and other parties are not responsible.
It is understood that the accident occurred on July 14, 2012, when the "MSC Flaminia" was in progress.on the way from New Orleans to AntwerpThe ship was carrying about 6500 TEUs of cargo. Smoke was emitted from the ship's No. 4 cargo hold. The crew judged that the container was on fire and immediately released carbon dioxide to suppress it.
In response to the fire, the crew sent a seven-man fire brigade to prepare a fire hose by the hatch, and when they tried to set the fire hose, an explosion occurred in the cargo hold.
The accident left three crew members dead, one missing and two seriously injured. The ship itself also suffered serious damage, in particular, most of the cargo containers in the stern of the No. 4 cargo hold were completely destroyed.
The MSC Flaminia is a container ship with a capacity of 6,750TEU. At the time of the fire, it was more than 1000 nautical miles from land in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. After the incident, the crew were forced to abandon ship and were rescued by other ships who came to the rescue.
The accident investigation revealed that the NVOCC (freight forwarding) Stolt Tank Containers had 29 tank containers on board, three of which were located in the No. 4 cargo hold where the explosion occurred.
On May 29, 2013, the ship's owner, operator, etc. filed a claim against Stolt and Deltech (the manufacturer of dangerous goods), alleging that the tank containers were the cause of the fire and that Stolt did not adequately warn of the danger of the cargo.
The accident caused great damage to the ship "MSC Flaminia,Conti, the owner of the ship, paid a high price in the process of salvaging and repairing the ship.The owner asserted that the vessel had been chartered to MSC for the duration of the vessel's outage.
The arbitrators ruled in July 2021, agreeing to pay about $0.2 billion in damages to Conti. Last year, MSC's appeal against the decision was rejected by the court.
After more than a decade of development, misdeclared and mispackaged cargo remains one of the biggest problems facing the shipping industry.
In this reminder: do not declare dangerous goods as ordinary goods, do not falsely report. This is not only a disregard for the safety of others, but also a great damage to the reputation and interests of their own enterprises.
False reporting and concealment of dangerous goods has a profound impact on ships and the shipping industry as a whole.
First of all, this may lead to serious safety accidents during the transportation of the ship, such as fire, explosion, etc., which seriously threaten the life safety of the personnel on board. Secondly, once an accident occurs, it will not only cause huge economic losses, but also have a serious negative impact on the reputation and credibility of the shipping industry.
In addition, false reporting and concealment of dangerous goods may also involve legal issues, and those responsible may face huge fines or even criminal responsibility.
Therefore, the majority of consignors are strongly urged to strictly abide by relevant laws and regulations, truthfully declare cargo information, and ensure that dangerous goods are properly handled and transported. This is not only a respect for the safety of others, but also a responsible attitude towards the long-term development of the enterprise itself.
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