Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly
Claims by personal injury and fatal accident claimants on property funds in limitation proceedings
Grahame Aldous *
A person who has a personal injury or fatal accident claim against a shipowner who is entitled to limit his damages under the Limitation Convention 1976 can claim against both the “personal injury fund” and the “property fund” under the Convention, even if there are no property claims. Although the contrary argument has at times been raised in the past, it cannot be supported either by the plain words of the Convention or by looking at the intention behind the Convention. The
travaux preparatoires for the Convention make plain that it was intended that both funds should be available.
The Limitation Convention 1976
The Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976 is incorporated into United Kingdom law by the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, s. 185 and Sched. 7.1
Article 6 of the Convention contained in Sched. 7 of the Act sets out the amounts to which shipowners may limit their liability. Article 6(1) provides:
1. The limits of liability for claims other than those mentioned in Article 7,[
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]
arising on any distinct occasion, shall be calculated as follows:
- (a) In respect of claims for loss of life or personal injury,
- (i) 333,000 [SDRs][ 3 ] for a ship with a tonnage not exceeding 500 tons,
- (ii) for a ship with a tonnage in excess thereof the following amount in addition to that mentioned in (i):
- for each ton from 501 to 3,000 tons, 500 [SDRs]
- for each ton from 3,001 to 30,000 tons, 333 [SDRs]
- for each ton from 30,001 to 70,000 tons, 250 [SDRs], and
- for each ton in excess of 70,000 tons, 167 [SDRs],[ 4 ]
- (b) In respect of any other claims,
- (i) 167,000 [SDRs][ 5 ] for a ship with a tonnage not exceeding 500 tons,
* Barrister, 9 Gough Square, London EC4A 3DE.
1. Formerly the Merchant Shipping Act 1979, s. 17, Sched. 4.
2. Which applies only to passengers under a contract of carriage or accompanying a vehicle or live animals. For passengers under a contract of carriage, see also the (Athens) Convention Relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea set out in Sched. 6 to the Act.
3. The “Unity of Account” referred to in Art. 6 is the Special Drawing Right (SDR) as defined by the International Monetary Fund: see Art. 8. The figure is 166,667 SDRs for a vessel under 300 tons by reason of the Merchant Shipping Act 1996, Sched 7, Part 2, para. 5.
4. All of the limits set out above and below are subject to increase upon the entry into force in the UK of the 1996 Protocol to amend the Convention: see the Merchant Shipping (Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims) (Amendment) Order 1998: S.I. 1998/1258.
5. The figure is 83,333 SDRs for a vessel under 300 tons by reason of the Merchant Shipping Act 1996, Sched. 7, Part 2, para. 5.
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