Three ships share liability for 2002 collision

Three ships share liability for 2002 collision In litigation growing out of the 2002 capsize and sinking of the Wallenius Wilhelmsen car carrier Tricolor in the English Channel, three ships have been found partially liable in a remanded collision case by a federal judge in the Southern District of New York.
   The Southern District had found in its original 2006 decision, that a single ship, Otal Investment’s Kariba, was 100 percent liable for the casualty. But last year, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals found the Southern District was wrong and that all three ships involved in the incident were partially responsible and sent the case back to the lower court for further proceedings.
   Wednesday, the court apportioned liability, finding the Kariba 63 percent liable, the Tricolor 17 percent liable, and a third ship, the Clary 20 percent liable. It further found Tricolor’s speed was a proximate cause of the collision.
   The court said Clary could not limit its liability under the Limitation of Liability Act to the value of the vessel and pending freight. But it said Tricolor could limit its liability under both the Limitation of Liability Act and is exonerated from liability under the Carriage of Goods at Sea Act.