Court holds PPG liable for hazmat fire on æDG HarmonyÆ
Pittsburgh-based chemical manufacturer PPG Industries Inc. is liable for damage claims following an explosion and fire aboard the containership 'DG Harmony' that occurred off the coast of Brazil Nov. 9, 1998, ruled a judge in the U.S. Southern District of New York.
The crew and captain abandoned the vessel, which burned for three weeks. Most of its cargo was destroyed or damaged. The ship itself was declared a total loss and was eventually scrapped.
Cargo interests that subsequently sued PPG argued that the fire had been caused by a PPG shipment of calcium hypochlorite hydrated, or 'cal-hypo,' a bactericide used to purify water. The cal-hypo was stored in 120 drums on tightly wrapped pallets that had been packed in 10 unventilated containers. According to U.S. District Judge Denny Chin, investigators proved 'beyond any reasonable doubt' that the cal-hypo in at least one container had decomposed and self-heated, causing the blast and resulting inferno that spread over the ship.
'Although I have concluded that PPG was not actually aware of the full risks of shipping cal-hypo in 300-pound drums in the manner in which it was shipped here, I conclude also that the hazard was reasonable, as there were sufficient red flags to have caused PPG, in the interests of reasonable care, to have investigated further the dangers presented,' Chin stated in his ruling.
The court determined that 'warnings provided by PPG were inadequate and misleading,' and that the shipper had not requested stowage at low temperatures recommended by international hazmat codes. 'PPG had a duty to provide a warning that would fully inform vessels and others in the distribution chain of all the risks involved in shipping cal-hypo in the manner it was shipped here. PPG breached that duty,' Chin ruled.
The court concluded that 'PPG is liable to the vessel and cargo interests on their strict liability, negligence and failure-to-warn claims.' The title of the case is 'In re M/V DG HARMONY and Consolidated Cases.'