The Bamcell II - Ct. of Appeal - 29 March 1982

Marine insurance - Whether loss caused by peril of the seas

The Bamcell II was a vessel of unique design. Originally a barge, she had been converted to perform as a floating platform. She was partially open to the sea on her bottom and was kept afloat by an airtight deck. The design enabled her stern to be submerged enough to permit modules, each weighing some 7 tons, to be floated on and off her deck. She sank when a member of her crew intentionally opened the deck valves to let out the air trapped in the hull so that the stern would settle, and then negligently failed to close the valves again.