Cases / Staged loss / scuttling · Greece · 1994–2002

Grecia Express ferry scuttling (Greece)

Nature's voice · report

No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.

Did nature suffer? Not measured.

Not on record

The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.

What the record lacks: 1 not measured · 1 disputed See the gaps

The ferry Grecia Express sank at Aegion in the Gulf of Corinth in 1994. The insurer alleged that the owner scuttled her; an English court found the owner not complicit and ordered US$9.9m, including anti-pollution expenses.

US$9.9mOrdered by the court against the insurer
Covered insured value, wreck removal and anti-pollution expenses.

Status As of the 2002 judgment: English court found the owner not complicit and ordered US$9.9m; payment status not found.

What?

A ferry was sunk by cutting its mooring ropes and opening a seawater valve; the insurer alleged the owner did it, and the court found the owner not complicit.

Where?

Aegion, Gulf of Corinth, Greece.

When?

5 March 1994; judgment in 2002.

Who?

Gained

None on record

Lost

Hellenic Mutual War Risks — Ordered to pay US$9.9m including anti-pollution expenses

Harmed

None on record

Why?

The insurer alleged the owner scuttled the ship; the court did not accept the allegation.

How?

Mooring ropes were cut and a seawater valve was opened.

6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

On 5 March 1994 the ferry Grecia Express sank at Aegion, in the Gulf of Corinth. The mooring ropes had been cut and a seawater valve opened.

The insurer, Hellenic Mutual War Risks, alleged that the owner, George Ventouris, had scuttled the ship.

In Strive Shipping v Hellenic Mutual [2002] EWHC 203 (Comm), Colman J found the owner not complicit. He ordered US$9.9m covering the insured value, wreck removal and anti-pollution expenses, so the insurer paid the pollution cost. The judgment set the "highly improbable" test later applied in Atlantik Confidence.

1994Grecia Express sinks at Aegion, Gulf of Corinth, on 5 March; mooring ropes cut and a seawater valve opened
2002Colman J, Strive Shipping v Hellenic Mutual [2002] EWHC 203 (Comm): owner not found complicit; US$9.9m ordered

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Did the owner scuttle the Grecia Express?

Company or project

Hellenic Mutual War Risks (insurer)

Alleged the owner, George Ventouris, scuttled the ship.

Courts

Colman J, Commercial Court

Found the owner not complicit; the insurer's allegation of intent was not accepted in this case.

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

Recorded

Mooring ropes were cut and a seawater valve was opened
The court found the owner not complicit and ordered US$9.9m covering insured value, wreck removal and anti-pollution expenses

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

2002Claimant wonUSD m 9.9m Ordered, covering insured value, wreck removal and anti-pollution expenses
Strive Shipping v Hellenic Mutual [2002] EWHC 203 (Comm)
High Court of England and Wales, Commercial Court · Civil · Strive Shipping → Hellenic Mutual War Risks
Colman J found the owner not complicit in the scuttling and ordered US$9.9m. The judgment set the "highly improbable" test later applied in Atlantik Confidence.

Insurers

2002In litigationUSD m 9.9m Ordered by the court
Hellenic Mutual War Risks → Strive Shipping (owner of the Grecia Express)
Stated reason: Insurer alleged the owner scuttled the ship
The court rejected the allegation and ordered US$9.9m covering insured value, wreck removal and anti-pollution expenses. Whether the sum was paid was not found.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Anti-pollution expenses

Within US$9.9m

The court-ordered sum covered insured value, wreck removal and anti-pollution expenses

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

Court ruling exists

Nature

Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

Accounts

Disputed Did the owner scuttle the Grecia Express?

Did the harm stop?

Not stated in the record: no information on the extent of pollution.

Who paid?

The court ordered the insurer to pay US$9.9m, including anti-pollution expenses.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers