COMPANIA NAVIERA VASCONGADA v. BRITISH & FOREIGN MARINE INSURANCE CO., LTD. [THE "GLORIA."]

(1936) 54 Ll.L.Rep. 35

KING'S BENCH DIVISION.

Before Mr. Justice Branson.

Marine insurance-Loss of plaintiffs' vessel (owned by Spanish company) in Irish Sea on voyage from Larne to Port Talbot, in ballast-Vessel built in 1896-Claim under time policy- Defence that vessel was scuttled; alternatively, that she put to sea in an unseaworthy condition with the privity of the owners-Evidence that vessel stained damage to her starboard side in leaving quay at Larne; that she sprang a leak in her port side during the voyage owing to heavy weather; that she was prematurely abandoned (she was seen to be still afloat nine hours after her abandonment and it was probable that she could have been towed to port); that the logbooks were inadvertently lost during the abandonment of the vessel; that the vessel was over-insured (with the knowledge of the underwriters); that the plaintiffs were a company of good repute and had an excellent insurance record; that the vessel was classed under the highest class of the Bureau Veritas (although her annual survey was five months overdue); and that the plaintiffs had in practice carried out repairs in excess of those called for by the survey reports-Onus of proof-Privity of owners as to unseaworthiness-Marine Insurance Act, 1906, Sect. 39 (5).