Rena Cargo Owners Begin Filing Claims

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

31 Oct 2011

Cargo owners have begun lodging claims against Mediterranean Shipping Co., the charterer of the grounded Rena in New Zealand.MSC is waiting for

the ship's owner, Costamare, to formally declare whether the Rena is considered to be still in route. If the ship is declared to be not on a "continuing voyage," salvors will have some rights to the cargo, MSC's general manager, Phil Abraham told the New Zealand Herald.
Uncertainty over whether the containers will be recovered has meant customers, many with household possessions on board, cannot make claims to their insurers. Abraham said some large shipping companies with cargo on board had already lodged claims with his firm.
"We are dealing with those but we are having to wait to see what the owners and salvors are going to do," he said.
Costamare, which has insured its cargo with the Swedish P&I Club, has 60 days from the day of the Rena’s grounding on Oct. 5 to file an action in a court in New Zealand or another jurisdiction to limit its liability in the accident.
Source: Journal of Commerce