Liability, awards and settlements

11.9, dangerous cargo, action

US: legal action has commenced in the New York courts against the Chinese shippers and forwarding agents of a dangerous cargo that was vouchsafed before shipment to be harmless, but which in fact caused a serious on-board fire. The incident has led to hundreds of cargo insurance claims running into millions of dollars. New York maritime law firm DeOrchis Wiener has filed a declaratory judgment action against the Chinese, following the disastrous fire in June on fully cellular containership Zim Haifa , when cargo described by Sinochem in the bill of lading as calcium chloride, a harmless cargo, turned out to be calcium hypochlorite, an extremely dangerous cargo and is listed in the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code. It can explode and ignite at a relatively low temperature and Zim Integrated Shipping Services has refused to carry it since 2002. More than 100 containers on Zim Haifa were damaged by heat and fire after one 20ft box exploded in number five hold, when the vessel was in the Pacific, two days after transiting the Panama Canal. It took several days to get the fire under control and the ship had to sail to Balboa for shore assistance. The Chinese shippers gave Zim a laboratory certificate stating that the cargo was calcium chloride and was not flammable. In the declaratory judgment filed in the US District Court, Southern District of New York, DeOrchis Wiener has asked the court to declare that the Chinese shippers are responsible for the fire and the $3.1mn worth of damages and expenses involved, plus interest and costs. According to estimates presented by Zim, container damage amounted to $580,800 and vessel damage to $770,000. The firm has also filed a declaratory judgment against the shippers and receivers of all the cargo damaged in the hold, asking the same judge to hold that Zim is not liable for the losses but that the Chinese shippers are. The intention is to have, as far as possible, all claims resolved in one court before one judge.