In unprecedented Pandemic – people have remained at home (!) from Mar 24,2020 – and many are talking about economic imbalance – of not being to earn. There is a different World out there – of uber rich who own pleasure boats and this post is on one such !
For
economic reasons and for satisfying the demands – ‘goods are moved from one
place to another’. Goods in transit are
insured under Marine Policies. There are
two divisions – Marine Hull and Marine Cargo. Goods are cargo, while Ships, boats are Hull –
but when a boat is transported in another Ship – the boat (the Hull) becomes
the subject matter of Marine Cargo Insurance.
In Marine, there will be a Consignor and a Consignee and often the goods
are sent through a Carrier – the Carriage operator [need not be owning the
conveyance of carriage] charges freight and is obligated to deliver the goods
at the intended destination.
A yacht is a sail or power vessel used for pleasure,
cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, so the term applies to
such vessels that have a cabin with amenities that accommodate overnight use.
To be termed a yacht, as opposed to a boat, such a pleasure vessel is likely to
be at least 33 feet (10 m) in length and have been judged to have good
aesthetic qualities. There are some
classifications su9ch as Commercial; Private; Pleasure – and then by its size
and power. Racing yachts are designed to
emphasize performance over comfort. Charter yachts are run as a business for
profit. As of 2020 there were more than 15,000 yachts of sufficient size to
require a professional crew.
Transportation, logistics,
carriage, packing, documentation, liabilities of persons involved are
complex. When we entrust some goods to a
Transporter for delivery – we presume
that they would safely deliver the same at intended destination failing which,
you can hold them responsible for the loss or damage. In reality, things are not so simple ! .. to
start with there are Road Carriers, Rail Carriage, carriage by Sea (ship) and
Air carriage. If carriage is Port to
Port Transport, the responsibility (if any) of the Carrier for loss or damage
to the Goods occurring from the time when the Goods are loaded on board the
Vessel at the Port of Loading until the time when the Goods are discharged from
the Vessel at the Port of Discharge.
The law of Carriage
of goods governs the transportation of goods by land, sea, or air. The relevant
law governs the rights, responsibilities, liabilities, and immunities of the
carrier and of the persons employing the services of the carrier. Until the development of railroads, the most
prominent mode of transport was by water. The law governing carriage of goods
by sea developed much earlier than that governing inland transportation. The
sea laws of the island of Rhodes achieved such prominence that a part of them
was carried, many centuries later, into the legislation of Justinian. This duty of the carrier to deliver the goods
safely was considered to exist without regard to obligations arising under any
contract between the parties.
As an essential
contractual undertaking of the carrier, delivery of goods gives rise to a
series of related obligations and liabilities. According to the provisions in
contracts of carriage of goods or the carriage laws, impliedly or expressly, the
obligations focus on the followings, inter alias: Firstly, a carrier shall
deliver the goods safely; secondly, deliver at an agreed place, or in some
special circumstances, at a proper place other than the agreed one; thirdly,
deliver in time; fourthly, deliver with the proper mode; and, the last, deliver
to the proper person.
Then there is ‘due
diligence’; extent of liability (limited liability) and immunity of
carriers. One of the important
provisions of COGSA [Carriage of Goods by Sea Act] is “Neither the carrier nor the ship shall be
liable for loss or damage arising or resulting from unseaworthiness unless
caused by want of due diligence on the part of the carrier to make the ship
seaworthy, and to secure that the ship is properly manned, equipped, and
supplied.. .. ….. (partly reproduced)
Now with this lengthy
background read this news article that appeared in MailOnline. Italian billionaire Pier Luigi Laro Piana
whose £30m superyacht sank after it fell off the back of a cargo freighter is
suing the British transport firm for compensation. Pier Luigi is an heir to the
high end clothing company Loro Piana, which was founded in 1924 by his
grandfather Pietro.
The owner of
a £30million (Rs. 295 cr) super yacht is
suing a British transport company for the loss of his vessel which fell off a
cargo vessel and sank in a storm. Italian billionaire Pier Luigi Laro Piana
commissioned Peters and May to transport his three-year-old yacht, My Song,
between Antigua and Genoa. However, in May 2019, the yacht, which was being
carried by the freighter Brattingsborg, was lost overboard in a storm around 40
miles from Menorca and sank. Later, the huge
yacht was spotted half submerged and drifting 40 miles from Menorca. According
to The Times, Mr Piana is suing the the firm for the replacement value of
yacht. However, the Southampton-based Peters and May deny responsibility.
According to
court papers: 'The primary assessment is that the yacht's cradle - owned and
provided by the yacht, warranted by the yacht for sea transport and assembled
by the yacht's crew - collapsed during the voyage.' Mr Piana's lawyers are seeking to have the
case returned to an Italian court. He had previously told La Repubblica: 'For
anyone who loves the sea, this boat is like a second home, and it is as if my
home has burnt down. 'We decided to
transport it on a cargo ship to be sure it wasn't damaged because you can never
be sure of the weather.'
The yacht
was salvaged by a German firm but it was beyond economic repair as teh carbon
fibre hull was holed in several places and the masts were broken off. Her owner
had arranged for 'My Song' to take part in the 2019 Loro Piana Superyacht
Regatta, where she was a returning winner. My Song is described as 'a wolf in
sheep's clothing' - she has a 56-metre-high mast and under full sail can reach
more than 30 knots. 'She was packed with
cutting edge design and technology and also served as a comfortable cruising
yacht.'
With regards
– S. Sampathkumar
7.8.2020
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