APL Austria general average – latest

SA marine insurers and cargo

owners face an exposure of

roughly R64.4 million for

general average contributions

in the APL Austria affair,

according to calculations by the

average adjusters appointed by

the ship owners and exclusively

released to FTW

by the legal firm

Norton Rose

Fulbright SA –

which acts on

behalf of most,

if not all, of the

APL Austria

cargo insured in

the SA insurance

market.

“The ship

was due to

discharge cargo at Cape Town

and various West African

ports,” said Carol Holness,

senior associate of Norton Rose

Fulbright. “The value of the

cargo insured in the SA market

is approximately R230m.”

The average adjusters,

meantime, have set the cash

deposit amount – that must

be put up by the owners of

uninsured cargo in order to

secure the release of their cargo

– at 28% of the invoice value of

the cargo.

And this cash deposit, said

Holness, is usually a good

indication of the anticipated

contribution that will be

demanded

from each

cargo owner

(and their

insurer) when

the average

adjustment

is issued.

“The average

adjusters have

confirmed

to us that

cargo owners

(and their insurers) should

retain a reserve of 28% of the

invoice value of the cargo as

an anticipated general average

contribution,” she told FTW.

This would mean that the

owner (or insurer) of cargo

valued at R1m would have

to contribute approximately

R280 000 towards general

average. If the cargo is

damaged, Holness pointed out,

then the contribution would

be calculated on the arrived

value of the cargo. And, if the

cargo is a total loss, then no

general average contribution is

required.

But this is no overnight

settlement. An average

adjustment (setting out the

contribution due by each party)

usually took eight to 10 years to

be issued, Holness told FTW.

As for the APL Austria

herself, her fire-damaged

superstructure underwent

repairs at the Dormac shipyard

in Durban and was cleared

by her classification society.

She departed from Durban

and called at Reunion and

is currently en route to

Singapore.

She apparently completed

all repairs in Durban and is not

due to undergo further repairs

in Singapore, although FTW is

led to believe she may undergo

some minor repairs at a future

dry-docking.

INSERT

The value of the

cargo insured in

the SA market is

approximately R230m.

– Carol Holness

CAPTION

The APL Austria which suffered a major fire in February.