Triton 2025 - Magazine - Page 32
FEATURES
Germany, Denmark, Romania and the UK, Benny and the
Club were a constant presence.
“When you have a major incident, you have to get on and
deal with it,” said Benny. “Because there are so many
different things going on at the same time, you have to work
with one box at a time. When you close one box you go on to
the next one and so on.”
The Club not only provided legal and technical support but
actively negotiated costs and challenged inflated claims
from multiple authorities. Benny recalled the practical
hurdles they faced and overcame.
“The 昀椀nancial strain on the shipowner was such that we
had to assist them if we were to have any chance of getting
the ship out of the port and into repair. We had no option
but to assist the owner 昀椀nancially, there was no question
about that, otherwise the ship would have stayed in
Wilhelmshaven,” he said.
That assistance was not just 昀椀nancial; it was strategic and
relentless. When the UK authorities demanded £1 million in
costs, The Swedish Club negotiated it down to £200,000.
French demands of €10 million were eventually reduced to
€450,000.
“The whole thing is about money. Life doesn’t matter. It is
about money,” said Benny. “A lot of people, and I am talking
about a lot of people, see money coming in and they inflate
everything. At one point, the port authorities were charging
outrageous fees, so I stopped paying. They threatened to
arrest us, of course, but that forced them to the table, and
we negotiated. That’s what it took.”
Putting Evidence at the Forefront
The Swedish Club’s dedication to careful documentation,
legal rigour and collaborative evidence gathering proved
instrumental in the case. The work done in supporting the
manager’s position: establishing that the ship was in good
condition, the crew were properly trained and certi昀椀ed, and
the cargo had been misdeclared, was foundational to the
outcome.
“We had to show, of course, that the crew was competent
and had all the right certi昀椀cates, and that the ship was in
shipshape condition. We had to show the courts that the
ship was in good condition which we did,” said Benny. “Of
course, the manager had to prove that it had all the right
certi昀椀cates and paperwork, and the way they worked. When
you are dealing with a competent manager, it is not dif昀椀cult
to do this.”
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This combination of evidence and partnership ultimately
persuaded the U.S. court that neither the owner nor the
manager bore any responsibility for the explosion, an almost
unheard-of ruling in that jurisdiction.
“When you follow cases in the US courts, you never 昀椀nd a
judge who awards someone zero liability. It is the 昀椀rst time I
heard of that happening,” said Sanne.
A Culture of Collaboration
For Sanne, what stood out most was the relationship
itself. The Club didn’t just respond, they stood shoulder to
shoulder with NSB at every turn, offering clarity, consistency,
and real care.
“The very strong relationship and friendship we had was
very different to anything I had worked on before. Apart
from Benny, we also had a very good broker who worked
with us. What I found amazing about Benny was that he
remembered everything. He also knew everything and
when I was struggling to 昀椀nd a document or piece of
communication, he knew where it was.”
That reliability proved essential in a case involving dozens
of parties, competing jurisdictions, hazardous cargo, and
international scrutiny. And while the industry focused on
blame and costs, the Club stayed focused on support,
resolution, and fairness.
“We had the cargo manufacturer, the manager which was
us NSB, the crew manager, the insurer, and not only The
Swedish Club, but many other insurers for other cargo
owners. And everyone had an interest. And everyone was
of course eager to protect their assets,” said Sanne. “There
were so many single tragic stories.”
The Legacy of the Case
Today, the Flaminia casualty remains a landmark case in
maritime law and insurance. But it’s also remembered at The
Swedish Club as one of its most committed efforts in defending
a member’s interest through facts, diligence, and teamwork.
“We could quickly see in the beginning that the hull insurers
would not cover all of the expenses that would accrue
through the course of the casualty. P&I cover was unlimited
so there was no problem there, but it was not the same with
the hull insurance,” Benny explained.
That difference made the Club’s flexible and forward-leaning
approach all the more critical. Every box that was opened
and closed, every court appearance, every negotiation, bore
the 昀椀ngerprint of a team committed to doing what was right,
and ensuring that justice prevailed.
