Stolt-Nielsen agrees to pay $290 million in compensation over the fatal incident on the MSC Flaminia

It took a long time, but the protracted legal battle over lethality MSC Cruises The incident resulted in a $290 million settlement.

The incident occurred on July 14, 2012, when the ship was crossing the Atlantic en route from Charleston (USA) to Antwerp (Belgium) and a fire broke out in cargo hold number four. When the crew tried to put out the fire, an explosion occurred. There were around 6,500 TEU of cargo on board at this time.

Stolt Tank Containers had 29 tank containers on board the ship, three of which were stowed in hold number 4. It was alleged that these tank containers were the cause of the fire and that Stolt Tank Containers had not adequately warned of the inherent danger of the cargo.

The explosion was caused by the autopolymerization of the contents of one or more of three tank containers loaded with a chemical called DVB. Three crew members died while the remaining 20 were rescued.

In July last year, a US appeals court confirmed Stolt-Nielsen’s entire liability from a 2018 judgment. In the court decision, Stolt Tank Containers, together with Deltech, were found 45% and 55% guilty, respectively. After the court case last July, Stolt-Nielsen was initially expected to pay around $155 million.

The Stolt-Nielsen Group has now agreed to settle the case and pay up to $290 million in compensation, acknowledging shared responsibility for the accident.

The ship was salvaged and repaired after the incident, at enormous cost to its owner Conti. The owners claimed that the vessel was rented out by MSC throughout the time the vessel was out of service. Arbitrators agreed and awarded Conti approximately $200 million in damages in July 2021. At appeal MSC’s appeal over this decision was struck down in court last year.