The Hamburg shipping company Ernst Russ, owner of the “Solong”, which was wrecked off the coast of England, has applied to the Admiralty Court in London for a “limitation of liability fund”.
This fund is intended to cover claims by parties who have suffered losses or damage in connection with the ship collision. If the project is successful, claims can be asserted against the fund without being able to take legal action against the assets of the individual liable parties.
The German container ship, which was sailing between Hull, Grangemouth and Rotterdam under charter from the short sea carrier Samskip, rammed the Swedish tanker “Stena Immaculate” (49,729 tdw, built in 2017) off the Humber estuary on the east coast of England on March 10. A fire then broke out on both ships, a Filipino seaman from the “Solong” died in the accident and the captain of the ship was arrested.
According to a report by the news agency Reuters, Ernst Russ is responding to a lawsuit filed by Stena Bulk, the operator of the tanker, against the one-ship company belonging to the shipping company. This liability limitation fund is therefore available to all parties who have demonstrable claims against the owner of the “Solong”.
The container ship itself was completely burnt out and has since been towed to the Scottish port of Aberdeen. It is considered a “total loss” even before the survey has been completed.
The “Stena Immaculate”, on the other hand, got off relatively lightly. Only a cargo tank and a ballast water tank were damaged in the collision. Around 17,000 barrels of aviation fuel were burnt or vaporized in the subsequent fire.
According to the US charter company Crowley, the salvage work is now entering the next phase. The remaining 200,000 barrels of aviation fuel are to be pumped onto the tanker “Fure Vyl” and unloaded in the port of Killinghome. This will be followed by a further inspection in Newcastle upon Tyne.
