Widow Of Shipbreaking Worker Free To Pursue Negligence Claim

Published date05 August 2020
Subject MatterLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Transport, Marine/ Shipping, Professional Negligence
Law FirmLeigh Day
AuthorLeigh Day

A widow whose husband was killed while dismantling a large vessel in a shipbreaking yard on the beaches of Bangladesh can press ahead with her claim against the UK-based shipping company involved in the vessel's sale.

13 July 2020

In a judgment handed down today (Monday, 13 July) an English High Court judge refused to strike out a claim for negligence brought by widow Hamida Begum against Maran (UK) Ltd.

Mr Justice Jay held that Maran (UK) Ltd arguably owed a duty of care to the Bangladeshi worker killed on the vessel. The decision is likely to send shockwaves around the shipping industry which historically has sent thousands of vessels to South Asian beaches for great profit.

The judge also agreed with Mrs Begum's solicitors, Leigh Day, that it was arguable that:

  • Maran (UK) Ltd had control to influence where the ship was eventually scrapped. They could have ensured the ship went on to be recycled in an ethical way, but would have had to accept a lower sale price.
  • Given the dangers of breaking up an end-of-life ship in Chattogram (formerly Chittagong), shipping companies selling their vessels into Bangladesh may be liable to compensate workers who suffer injury or death as a result.
  • Shipping companies who use middlemen ('cash buyers') to dispose of their vessels cannot rely on contractual clauses which stipulate the use of ethical shipyards, when it is obvious that these clauses will be ignored.

Maran (UK) Ltd sought to have the case summarily dismissed on the grounds that they were too far removed (in time and space) from Mr Mollah's death to owe him a duty of care. The accident, they submitted, was because of the working conditions in Chattogram over which they had no control

Mr Justice Jay rejected this argument. He said:

'The proximate cause of the accident was the deceased's fall from a height, but on a broader, purposive approach the accident resulted from a chain of events which led to the vessel being grounded at Chattogram.'

Mrs Begum alleges that Maran (UK) Ltd was responsible for the vessel being sold to be broken up in that dangerous location.

Her husband Mr Khalil Mollah fell to his death on 30 March, 2018 while working on the defunct oil tanker EKTA in the Zuma Enterprise Shipyard in Chattogram, Bangladesh. He had worked in shipbreaking since 2009, working 70 hr weeks for low pay, and without PPE in highly dangerous conditions.

EKTA, formerly Maran Centaurus, had been owned and managed by companies within the multi-billion dollar...

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