High Court relief for MV Rak insurer
Responsibility of the owner or the insurer towards the payment of damage Granting relief to the Romanian insurer of the MV Rak carrier - a vessel that sank off Mumbai's coast in August last year - the Bombay High Court directed the Director General (DG) (Shipping) to give the insurance firm a hearing before black-listing it and preventing other vessels, insured by the firm, from entering Indian ports.Widening the issue, Justice P B Majmudar and Justice R D Dhanuka also asked the Qatar-based company Delta - that owned the MV Rak - and its Dubai-based charterer and agent to be joined as parties in the litigation.The court said the issue of the responsibility of the owner or the insurer towards the payment of damages for environment pollution, caused by the sunken ship, needs to be ascertained."Somewhere it should be sorted out," the court said pointing out that pollution caused by the leakage of oil from a sinking vessel poses serious environmental hazard. The court said it needs to be determined whether or not an insurer can be held accountable for the damages if the owner of the vessel fails to respond.In the interim period, however, there would be no restriction ...
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