Decisión nº: 000018

In April 1996 the 1971 Fund Executive Committee noted that a claim for £10 million for environmental damage had been presented to the shipowner’s insurer by the Government of Fujairah, but had not been formally submitted to the 1971 Fund. It was noted that the claim, which was based on a mathematical formula (the so called ‘Jeddah Method’), had been rejected by the shipowner’s insurer on the ground that that it was inadmissible under the Civil Liability Convention. The Committee endorsed the Director’s view that the claim was not admissible under the Civil Liability and Fund Conventions. The Committee noted that the Director had been informed that the Fujairah Government had drawn, from a special deposit made by the shipowner with a bank in the United Arab Emirates pursuant to a Memorandum of Agreement between the Government and the shipowner, some £10 million in respect of its claim for environmental damage and that it was expected that the shipowner would take legal action against his insurer and the 1971 Fund to recover this amount. The Committee instructed the Director that, if such action were brought, he should oppose the action on behalf of the 1971 Fund.