!The Claimant is the disponent owner of a cruise ship, the VAN GOGH. In 2006 the ship was chartered by the Claimant to Travelscope Cruises Limited, a cruise operator. In May 2006, the ship was scheduled to perform a series of short cruises, each of about 6 days duration from Harwich to various Norwegian ports then back to Harwich. The scheduled departure dates from Harwich were 16, 22 and 28 May 2006.
The first two cruises were performed. During those cruises, there were outbreaks on board of a gastrointestinal virus called norovirus, affecting significant numbers of passengers and crew. It is agreed that norovirus has the following characteristics: whilst unpleasant for those suffering from it, it is a relatively mild, well known and very common illness; it typically lasts 24 to 48 hours and has no long term effect and it affects between 600,000 and a million people in the UK each year, being particularly common in ‘semi-closed’ environments like hospitals, schools and cruise ships. The Defendant would wish to qualify that by adding that it is temporarily disabling and can be fatal to the elderly or those in poor health.!
Judges:
Flaux J
Citations:
[2008] EWHC 2794 (Comm)
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Transport
Updated: 26 July 2022; Ref: scu.277894