In March 2009, a Hong Kong flagged general cargo vessel named the Pacific Adventurer was damaged during a cyclone off Australia’s ecologically rich Queensland coast. As a result of the damage it spilled around 270 tonnes of heavy fuel oil into the waters, which affected a large stretch of coastline.
Elections were taking place in Queensland at the time and there was intense media interest surrounding the incident. The state's premier called for the owners of Pacific Adventurer to pay for all the costs of the clean-up operation, to which they agreed after further pressure.
"In the future for high-profile cases like that it may be that courts might take a flexible attitude to the right to limit if they are able to identify any grey areas," says Jonathan Hare, senior vice president and counsel at Skuld, a marine insurer providing Protection and Indemnity (P&I) and Defence cover to shipowners. "On top of that, regardless of the legality, there's going to be great commercial pressure."
"Countries without efficient legal systems create a bigger risk but it really can happen anywhere," he continues. "If you look at Australia, it's got a perfectly good legal system. There the problem wasn't the application of the law
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