Decision ID: 001922

In October 2006 the 1992 Fund Executive Committee recalled that the 1992 Fund had brought recourse actions against the registered owner of the Erika, the liability insurer of the vessel, the manager and the time charterer of the Erika, several companies in the Total Group, the classification society RINA and the classification society Bureau Veritas, and that notification interrupting the time bar had been made in respect of the deputy manager of Centre Régional Opérationnel de Surveillance et de Sauvetage (CROSS) and three officers of the French Navy. It noted that on the basis of the reports on the investigations into the cause of the incident by the Malta Maritime Authority, the French Permanent Commission of Enquiry into Accidents at Sea (La Commission Permanente d’enquête sur les évènements de la mer) (CPEM) and the report of the panel of experts established by the Commercial Court in Dunkirk the 1992 Fund had grounds for pursuing the recourse actions commenced by it in 2002 against some, but not all of the named parties. The Committee decided, however, to defer its decision as to whether to pursue recourse actions against all or some of the parties until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings, since new evidence might come to light which could be important for the Fund in reaching its decision.

Date: 30.09.2006
Category: Legal actions
Subject: Direct action against insurers