HFW Briefing – ATLANTIK CONFIDENCE: Cargo Insurers “break limits” in unprecedented judgment

ATLANTIK CONFIDENCE: Cargo Insurers “break limits” in unprecedented judgment

Following the fire and sinking of the bulk carrier ATLANTIK CONFIDENCE off the coast of Oman in April 2013, the owners of the vessel sought to constitute a limitation fund pursuant to the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976 (as amended, the Convention) in the Admiralty Court and obtain a declaration that they were entitled to limit their liability in accordance with the Convention due to the size of potential claims advanced against the owners.

Cargo Insurers sought to “break limits” by defending the application on the basis that the loss of the vessel along with her cargo was caused by the “personal act or omission” of the owners. Therefore the exception in Article 4 of the Convention applied. Cargo Insurers argued that the only credible explanation for the sinking of the vessel which was consistent with all of the evidence was that she was deliberately sunk by her crew on the direction of her owners.
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