Tasman Orient Line CV v New Zealand China Clays Ltd (‘The Tasman Pioneer’) [2010] NZSC 37

Johanna Hjalmarsson

Master’s default causing the loss of cargo – ‘Barratry’ - navigational fault

The facts

Tasman Pioneer struck rocks en route from Yokohama to Busan. Instead of taking immediate remedial action, the master attempted to conceal what had happened by steaming on, resulting in the destruction of the respondents’ cargo by seawater. The case turned on the interpretation of the Hague-Visby Rules, given the force of law in New Zealand by s209(1) of the Maritime Transport Act 1994. It was common ground between the parties that the rule in art IV r 2(a), which exempted the carrier from liability for navigational fault, did not apply in cases of barratry: