Liability for loss of ship anchored in port due to war operations : [case review] Cover Image

Odgovornost za štetu nastalu uslijed ratnih operacija na brodu usidrenom u luci : [prikaz presude]
Liability for loss of ship anchored in port due to war operations : [case review]

Author(s): Vesna Skorupan Wolff
Subject(s): Civil Law, Maritime Law, Commercial Law
Published by: Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti
Keywords: case review; war operations; ship anchored in port; liability for loss;

Summary/Abstract: During shellfire the defendant's ship, which was anchored and moored in the port, was caught by fire and the mooring ropes were burnt. As a consequence the defendant's ship was sailing unattended, the ship was capsized at the place where the plaintiff's boat was located and it sank. The established facts do not give grounds for the conclusion that the defendant caused the loss by an action on his part or failure to act or that the defendant knew or could have known that his ship, which was duly moored in the port at the permitted place, would represent a danger for other vessels. Or he could have foreseen such sequence of events, i.e. that the ship would be hit, caught by fire, that the ropes would be burnt and that the ship swept away by wind would stray unattended. The events that followed were completely beyond the defendant's control, he could not foresee them or control them in any way or prevent harmful consequences. Therefore, there is no liability of the defendant for the loss of the plaintiff's boat.

  • Issue Year: 43/2004
  • Issue No: 158
  • Page Range: 269-271
  • Page Count: 3
  • Language: Croatian