– power company awarded over $205M in damages, $3M in court costs

THE High Court in Demerara delivered a ruling on Monday, finding a Netherlands-flagged ship liable for damages caused to a 69-kilovolt (KV) submarine cable owned by the Guyana Power and Light (GPL). The cable, located on the floor of the Demerara River, was damaged when the vessel’s anchor was deployed on November 27, 2020, resulting in significant financial losses to the utility company. As a result of the damage, the Berbice Interconnected System developed a fault which caused it to shutdown, causing severe disruption in the Demerara Interconnected

System. During the period of interruption, which lasted for about two hours, 136,083 of GPL customers were affected. Following the incident, authorities arrested the ship, which was subsequently released after North P&I Club provided a letter of undertaking. On April 2, 2021, GPL initiated legal proceedings against the vessel. Justice Nareshwar Harnanan determined that the vessel, the ship Vlistdiep (the defendant), had breached its duty of care by failing to take reasonable precautions to avoid damaging the underwater infrastructure. Despite claims that the vessel was under the guidance of a Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) pilot at the time, the defendant did not pursue a third-party claim against MARAD, as previously indicated. Justice Harnanan emphaAccording to the judge, MARAD officers also testified, outlining standard operating procedures for maritime navigation

and the responsibilities of vessel operators to maintain a proper lookout. the damaged cable; general damages in the sum of $5,000 or negligence and fixed cost of $3,000,000. Interest on the judgment sum is set at six per cent from the date of filing of the application to the date of judgment, and four per cent thereafter until payment is completed. Justice Nareshwar Harnanan sised that the claimant, GPL, presented uncontroverted evidence to substantiate its claim. The judge said that GPL’s witness Troy Clarke testified that the submarine cable was marked in accordance with international charting

standards, refuting the defendant’s argument that the cable was inadequately indicated. Justice Harnanan also found that the defendant failed to meet these standards, particularly during critical tidal conditions when the anchor was dropped. Justice Harnanan ruled that the defendant’s negligence directly caused the severing of the submarine cable and the resulting damages to GPL. The court awarded the following: special damages of $200,931,139 for the repair and replacement of All sums are to be paid by the defendant on or before February 28, 25
GPL was represented by attorneys Devindra Kissoon, Natasha Vieira and Abhimanyu Dev. Lawyers Nigel Hughes, Jed Vasconcellos and Shawn Shewram are on record for the ship