A ship pilot reportedly won an hire claim over winch maintenance.
What happened?
The pilot had notified the ship manager who was responsible for technical management of bulk carrier that called upon the Australian port to load iron ore over the winch.
Ignored the problem:
The pilot had repeatedly warned the ship manager about the problem with the winch which was used for the vessel’s mooring rope. The winch was still operational, but the pinion gear was worn and needed to be replaced. The manager had taken no action to arrange the repairs.
Pilot refused to berth:
Since the manager refused to look into the matter, a pilot decided that they would not accept the master’s assurances and refused to allow the vessel to berth. The pilot spoke to the Harbour Master, who instructed the vessel to go to the anchorage until the winch could be repaired. This was done, causing a 4 day delay to the vessel. The vessel went off-hire in accordance with the terms of the charter-party.
Claims filed:
The owners subsequently brought a claim for around US$150,000 against the manager for (a) the hire not paid to them by the charterers during the off-hire period, and (b) the additional costs incurred as a result of having to rectify this problem outside of scheduled maintenance. The owners asserted that, had the manager arranged for the repairs to be carried out once they were first made aware of the issue, this could have been done without the vessel having gone off-hire.
Manager fined for negligence:
Investigations confirmed that this was the case, but that the charterers had incorrectly calculated the off-hire period. ITIC also reviewed the owner’s claim, and determined that some of the losses claimed would have been incurred irrespective of the manager’s negligence.
Ultimately, however, it was clear that the manager had breached their obligations to the owner under the ship management agreement and a settlement of the claim was negotiated by ITIC of US$120,000.
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Source: ITIC
