Conclusion

The judge found that the fault of Captain K. and his staff was not “actual fault” of Polsteam. They were not the directing mind of the company, either in practice or under the company’s constitution. Although it was not necessary for his decision, Staughton J. would have been prepared to hold, if it were relevant, that fault on the part of Mr. G. (Director of TIAD) was actual fault on the part of Polsteam. However, neither the Director-General nor Mr. G. were at fault in the present case. They did what it was reasonable for the owner of a hundred ships to do; first, to appreciate the navigational problems posed by the use of radar in fog; secondly, to impress the urgency of such problems upon the masters of their ships; and thirdly to take steps to ensure, as far as they reasonably could, that their ships were safely navigated in fog. Declaration that Polsteam was entitled to limit its liability.