The collision between the bulk carrier Polesie and the general cargo ship Verity on October 24, 2023, was caused by a failure of both bridge teams to effectively apply the 1972 COLREGs in a crossing situation. Verity, as the give-way vessel, failed to take early and substantial action to stay clear, while Polesie, the stand-on vessel, did not maintain a predictable course and speed, instead making small, incremental course adjustments to port that compounded the confusion. Contributing factors included a lack of direct bridge-to-bridge communication—exacerbated by the VTS radio configuration—and the absence of a Voyage Data Recorder on Verity, which hindered a full reconstruction of the final decision-making process.

Barry discusses the new report and highlights areas where he feels the report did not discuss fully enough. Comparison with case law has skewed the outcome of the report and Barry discusses the dangers in this.

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The loss of the Prestige remains one of the most contentious maritime disasters in history due to the fundamental conflict between the Bahamas Maritime Authority’s technical focus on structural failure and the Spanish authorities' emphasis on criminal negligence. While the BMA and international salvors argue that the ship was a victim of a "death march"—where the refusal of a Place of Refuge and the decision to tow the vessel into a North Atlantic storm caused its final breakup—the Spanish Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the Master and owners acted with "environmental recklessness." This judicial pivot, finalized in 2016, sought to bypass international liability caps to access a $1 billion insurance policy, a move that has resulted in a twenty-year legal stalemate between Spanish mandates and English contract law.

In this follow up to the last Podcast 'The Oil Compensation Minefield' Barry describes what happened that fateful night 24 years ago and describes the fallout from one of Europes worst maritime pollution disasters to date.

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At Captain Barry Sadler Maritime Training & Consultancy we deliver industry-leading online courses, oral exam preparation, and professional resources for deck officers, cadets, and maritime professionals. Fully aligned with UK MCA standards, our training helps you build knowledge, confidence, and a successful career at sea.

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While the CLC 1992 and the 2001 Bunker Convention are both strict liability regimes requiring compulsory insurance and allowing direct action against insurers, they are mutually exclusive in scope: the CLC 1992 focuses specifically on pollution from tankers carrying persistent oil as cargo, whereas the Bunker Convention fills the "gap" by covering fuel oil spills from non-tanker vessels (such as bulkers and container ships). A critical distinction lies in their structure, as the CLC provides a specialised multi-tier compensation system linked to the IOPC Fund with its own internal liability limits, while the Bunker Convention lacks an international fund and relies on separate regimes like the LLMC for limitation of liability, making liability under the bunker convention much smaller.

Barry discusses both funds and explains why owners may try and apply the bunker convention over the 1992 CLC to limit their liability. The case of the tanker 'Prestige' is used to demonstrate how this is sometimes forced.

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At Captain Barry Sadler Maritime Training & Consultancy we deliver industry-leading online courses, oral exam preparation, and professional resources for deck officers, cadets, and maritime professionals. Fully aligned with UK MCA standards, our training helps you build knowledge, confidence, and a successful career at sea.

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