SA state firm in two-decade-old ship grounding case

SA's state logistics company, Transnet, is locked in a $125m legal case dating back to 2016 arising from a claim by the owners and underwriters of cargo ship MV Smart that ran aground as it left Richards Bay harbour in 2013. A BusinessLIVE report says the owners blame the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) for negligently allowing the ship to leave the harbour. The claim is the largest of the 49 claims that Transnet is facing in respect of alleged recklessness, negligence and misconduct of a functionary or an official of the parastatal. Minister of Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation Maropene Ramokgopa noted that as at the end of March 2023, contingent liabilities arising from court proceedings against state institutions stood at $114m. Transnet is opposing the claims against it for the grounding and break-up of MV Smart, arguing that it was a result of the negligence of the captain of the vessel or that this was at least a contributory factor to the incident. It is also relying on a section of the Ports Act, which states that ‘neither the authority nor an employee or a representative of the authority is liable for loss or damage caused by anything done or omitted by the authority, the employee or the representative in good faith while performing any function in terms of this Act’. The damages claimed include the loss of the hull, the loss of the bunkers, the owners’ loss of their use of the ship, and the costs involved in the removal of the wreck. In addition, the owners seek to have TNPA pay the reasonable costs of removing the coal from the sea bed and to compensate the owners for claims which they may be liable to pay to cargo interests arising out of the loss of the ship and the cargo.