CSL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD V TASMANIAN PORTS CORPORATION PTY LTD AND OTHERS (THE "GOLIATH")

[2024] FCA 824, Federal Court of Australia, Stewart J, 26 July 2024

Admiralty – Limitation of liability – Limitation of liability for wreck removal claims – Reservation against limitation of claims for the removal of wreck – Two tugs becoming wreck as a result of allision – Removal of wrecks by port authority – Contracts – Standard terms – Whether port's standard terms excluding right to limit liability for removal of wreck – Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976, articles 2(1)(a) and (d) – Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims Act 1989 (Cth)

Following an allision in the port of Devonport in Tasmania, CSL, the claimant owners of the bulk carrier Goliath sought declarations to limit liability and had set up a limitation fund.