The shipowner accused of abandoning a shipwrecked crew in a deadly Gulf of Mexico storm has undertaken to pay up to $US21 million ($19.8 million) to victims if found liable for their plight. Mermaid Marine Australia says it has also received a letter from its insurer committing to fund that amount.
The Fremantle-based company is defending itself against a $US34 million lawsuit in US court launched by some of the victims that its vessel Mermaid Vigilance failed to come to the aid of their stricken liftboat during tropical storm Nate last September.
The shipowner accused of abandoning a shipwrecked crew in a deadly Gulf of Mexico storm has undertaken to pay up to $US21 million ($19.8 million) to victims if found liable for their plight. Mermaid Marine Australia says it has also received a letter from its insurer committing to fund that amount.
The Fremantle-based company is defending itself against a $US34 million lawsuit in US court launched by some of the victims that its vessel Mermaid Vigilance failed to come to the aid of their stricken liftboat during tropical storm Nate last September.
A spokesman said Mermaid, without making any admissions, had filed in court for a limitation of liabilities in relation to the claims. The amount reflected the value of the vessel and cash flow.
Four people, including Queens-lander Aaron Houweling, died after the crew of a liftboat abandoned ship in a raft and spent three days at sea without food or water.
The lawsuit accuses Mermaid Marine and two US companies of gross negligence because the Mermaid Vigilance “cut and ran for base and shelter” in an act “tantamount to murder at sea “. Mermaid says the ship’s master made the right decision to protect 37 lives on his vessel.
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