Netherlands ship ordered to pay GPL over $250M for damaged submarine cable

The High Court in Georgetown has awarded the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc over $250 million for damages to its 69kV Submarine Cable in the Demerara River back in November 2020.

The damaged occurred on November 27, 2020, by a ship registered in the Netherlands, sailing under the flag of Netherlands. At the time, the vessel was traversing the Demerara River when it dropped its anchor and hooked the cable as it moved along the river.

According to the Statement of Claim, some 96 kilometres of 69kV transmission lines were installed in 2014 of which 2.159km of the submarine cable with fibre optics was buried across the Demerara River, linking the Kingston and Vreed-en-Hoop substations.

At about 07:08h on November 27 over four years ago, the Berbice Interconnected System shutdown and caused severe disruptions in the Demerara Interconnected System, affecting some 136,083 customers during a two-hour period.

Upon investigation, it was found that the anchor of the Ship had negligently been dropped over the location of the submarine cable and the vessel continued to move, dragging the powerlines along the bottom of the river. As a result, the submarine cables broke due to the “negligence” of the Ship, which was also moored in a no mooring zone.

In the court document, GPL (Claimant) contended that the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) published admiralty charts which clearly showed the location of the 69kv Submarine Cable, and that the Ship knew or ought to have known of the location the transmission lines.

GPL subsequently undertook the repairs, which it said was “painstaking” task to reposition the cables. In fact, the submarine cables have been shortened and a similar incident would result in the transmission line having to be completely replaced.

The state-owned power company subsequently filed legal proceedings to recover the cost of repairs to the damaged cables. A Notice of the commencement of the proceeding was emailed to the Honorary Netherlands Consular Officer in Georgetown on April 2, 2021, indicating that action has begun against the Ship and of intention to apply for a warrant of arrest.

In its Statement of Claim, GPL asked for GS200,931,139 for the damages to 69kV submarine cable and General Damages in excess of G$100,000 for negligence, and other costs as deemed fit by the court.

During the trial, however, the defendant (the Ship) did not take responsibility for the damages to the cable, instead laying the blame at MARAD since the vessel was under the control of a MARAD pilot.

In his ruling on Monday, the trial judge, Justice Nareshwar Harnanan, said the court had to determine whether the Defendant was negligent. However, he noted that the Defendant did not offer witness statements but sought permission to file an expert report on liability, which was eventually struck out at trial since the Defendant failed to substantiate his expertise.

According to the trial judge, MARAD officers gave crucial testimony and evidence as it relates to standard operating proceedings for keeping lookout. It was also established, through a witness testimony on the international standard of chart, that the position of the cable was clearly marked.

Justice Harnanan found too that the Claimant established that the Ship did not satisfy its duty nor did it have the proper navigational charts. As a result, the Court found that the Defendant was negligent in not taking reasonable care to avoid the underwater cable, severing the cable and resulting in substantial loss and damage to the Claimant.

Consequently, the trial judge ordered the Ship to pay GPL the sum of $200,931,139 as special damages and general damages to the tune of $5,000,000 for negligence. The court also ordered interest on the total judgment sum at the rate of 6 per cent from filing to judgment and four per cent until fully paid as well as a fixed cost of $3,000,000.

The defendant was given up to February 28, 2025, to pay of all these sums.

During the trial, GPL was presented by attorneys Devindra Kissoon, SC, Natasha Vieira and Abhimanyu Dev of the London House Chambers.