Mediterranean Freight Services Ltd. v. B.P. Oil International Ltd. (The Fiona) - Q.B.D. (Com.Ct.) (H.H. Judge Diamond Q.C. sitting as a High Court Judge) - 12 November 1992

Carriage of goods by sea - Whether shipowner can obtain indemnity under Article IV, Rule 6 of Hague-Visby Rules even if in breach of his obligations as to seaworthiness

On 31 August 1988 an explosion occurred in No. 1 tank of the tanker Fiona while she was preparing to discharge her cargo of fuel at an off-shore platform near the Long Island Lighting Company’s power plant at Northport, New York. The shipowners sued the shippers of the fuel oil cargo - B.P. Oil International Ltd. (“B.P.”). The owners’ case was that the cargo was dangerous because it had a propensity, known to B.P. and other oil companies, but not to the owners or shipowners generally, to produce light hydrocarbon vapours which could and did give rise to an explosive atmosphere in the vessel’s tanks.