ABS held not liable to Spain by US court

In Reino de Espana v The American Bureau of Shipping Inc 03 Civ 3573, the Court addressed the thorny issue of the liability of classification societies and declined to hold the American Bureau of Shipping liable for the damage caused by Prestige at its sinkingin 2002.

Aysegul Bugra, PhD Candidate (University of Southampton)

The facts

M/T Prestige, an oil tanker flying the flag of the Bahamas, sank off the coast of Spain in November 2002, discharging millions of gallons of oil into Spain’s territorial waters which caused environmental and economic effects. Its class was certified by the American Bureau of Shipping (‘ABS’), a classification society that maintains its headquarters in Houston, Texas, USA.