Transnet ports authority sued for US$110m over cargo vessels

TRANSNET National Ports Authority (TNPA) is facing a US$110 million (about R1.83 billion) lawsuit over the running aground of a cargo vessel at its Richards Bay harbour more than a decade ago.

- LOYISO SIDIMBA [e-mail]

STRANDED coal carrier MV Smart, which ran aground off Richards Bay after it hit a sandbar in heavy swells, is now the subject of a multi-million US dollar lawsuit filed against Transnet Ports Authority.

(BRIAN SPURR)

MV Smart ran aground in August 2013 near the entrance of the harbour, which led to the vessel losing its cargo.

The owners and underwriters of the MV Smart want to recover damages from TNPA of about US$110m, claiming the loss of the vessel was due to negligence on the Transnet subsidiary's part.

The TNPA also faces two other lawsuits one by the charterer of the vessel (Minmetals Logistics Zhejiang Co. Ltd) and the other by the cargo interests, which is a claim relating to the loss of the cargo of coal it carried at the time.

Details of the multi-million US dollar lawsuit emerged in the Durban High Court, where the TNPA sought an order directing the owners and underwriters of the MV Smart to produce certain documents and correspondence for the state-owned entity to inspect them.

The matter for which the disclosure of the documents is required is set down to commence in July next year and is set to be heard for over four weeks.