By Cherie Gopie
After a vessel has been sold, and there is an incident which occurs (after the sale) that gives rise to a claim of negligence, for example, by a third party, the previous vessel owner is arguably insulated from any liability, having sold that vessel. However, the recent decision in the United Kingdom in the case of Begum v Maran (UK) Ltd has shown that there are developing areas of liability for ship owners when selling a vessel for scrapping or recycling and, in particular, when harm has been caused by a third party after the vessel has been sold.
