Damage to FFO

Following recent incidents of damages to fenders , quays at Alexandria and El Deikhela ports caused by vessels either being berthed, moored or while departing the berth, the following guidance is issued to members.

The vessel, in most cases, will be strictly liable for the damages of the fixed or floating objects situated in the vicinity of the said ports. This means that vessel will be responsible for any accidental damages, although sometimes the vessel were in no way at fault.

Therefore, the following precautionary arrangements could be useful to members:

1. Most probably, these incidents occur when the vessel is entering or departing the ports. Occasions arise when a vessel has to berth to a quay with fenders which has already suffered damage on one or more previous occasions and the damage remains extant. In such cases it is recommended that the Master is, through local agents, to draw the attention of the Port Authority to this and to ascertain the details of the damage in the log and support it with video recording or dated photographic evidence.
2. It is also particularly important to carefully question the pilot on board the vessel concerning any known criteria to him regarding pre existing damages to fenders, berths, and , if possible, to take his statement evidencing this.
3. Vessels are to strictly inspect the mooring arrangements while berthed to prevent, as much as possible, severe contact with fenders and berths bearing in mind that some berths at EDK port are in direct passage to the open sea (ie not sheltered ) leaving vessels vulnerable to pitching while berthed.

Usually the allegations of damage are made when the vessel is ready to depart the berth, and it is considerably difficult to repudiate these allegations and minimize the extent of any damage.

The Alexandria Port Authority also tend to determine the extent of the claim through a technical committee formed from various departments of the Authority and usually exaggerate the claim value in addition to applying a 10% of the claim value as administrative costs, diving expenses in addition to Value Added Tax. In most cases the evaluation of the claim is based on the price of the fender as brand new when purchased by the Port Authority. The committee may take quite some time to decide upon the exact final claim during which the vessel is detained.

We have spoken above about the methods upon which the Master may tend to avoid such claims, however when liability seems to be unavoidable, it is recommended not to argue much about the liability or the extent thereof but to start arranging for submitting the requested guarantee in the amount of the claim, which is usually in the form of a Letter of Guarantee submitted by the Agent or a draft Cheque submitted by the P&I Correspondent, with a request for permitting the P&I correspondent/agents to proceed with repairing the damages sustained by the fender or berth through their own arrangements but to the satisfaction of the technical committee of the APA. Repairs done through our firm, engaging a workshop on the basis of No Cure – No Pay, away from the Authority have proven considerable success in saving money ( APA release the guarantee back after repairs are done and accepted by the committee ) and avoiding further allegations of damage of pre existing damages especially that the Port Authorities tend to be quite slow in repairing or replacing the damages.