MSC Flaminia latest 2013

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This whole story has gone off the radar, there seems to be no infomation as to what is happening with this ship ?????



Posted on January 14, 2013, 1:03 am
Since the beginning of MSC Flaminia story, I received more than a dozen letters from shippers, mainly individuals who shipped their goods by MSC Flaminia. MSC and NSB declared a General Average, making everyone responsible for the fire on board, and resulting contamination and destruction of many of the containers. I proposed to shippers, long ago, to try to unite and sue the carrier collectively. A small shipper, especially individual, has no chance to stand against multinational major carrier in court.
I still believe the general idea behind General Average rule is basically wrong, and that’s where the main and only hope, for those who feel themselves simply robbed by the carrier, lies. I explained myself before, and I’ll repeat my reason one more time –  General Average law is a relict of sailing ships and Lloyd’s Coffee House era, when risks emerging from sea transportation were incomparably higher than they’re now. What is more, the fire on board of MSC Flaminia can not be described as originated from the dangers of the high seas. Let’s put it this way – it was a fire caused by improper management of the warehouse, by either breaking the rules of fire safety, or due to insufficient, outdated rules. In an accident like this one, technically, the only difference between conventional warehouse and MSC Flaminia and other boxships is, that the boxships are floating warehouses, while a conventional warehouse stays on the ground. There was absolutely nothing in the accident, which can be connected or rooted to maritime risks, to storms, tsunami, cyclones, navigational errors, fog, snow, etc. We keep unchanged the Rule of General Average from the times when women had no voting rights and were considered to be inferior to men, when death penalty was the punishment for several dozen, if not hundred, crimes, many of which are now considered petty, so it’s only logical to question the Rule’s justifiability and  compliance with present day realities.
I received a letter from one more ill-fated shipper, whose two brand new Porsche Panamera cars were destroyed by the fire, and who is to pay now a full cost of invoice to NSB. He and some 5 other shippers he was able to get in touch with, are cherishing the idea of collective claim against the carrier.
I invite all those who’re suffering financial and other losses originated not only by fire itself, but by the General Average, declared by MSC and NSB, to unite with the shippers I mentioned before. You’ll have a very good chance to win I suppose, if you unite, make yourselves heard and noticed, and go public with this, I’d say, outrageous story.
Voytenko Mikhail

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