National Insurance made to pay Rs 1 crore 23 years after vessel sank

AHMEDABAD: The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) ordered an insurance company to pay compensation of Rs 1 crore with 9% interest to a woman, whose boat had capsized off the Oman coast 23 years ago.

The National Insurance Co Ltd will finally have to pay the sum assured Kesharben Cham of Porbandar. She fought for the insurance money for more than two decades. The delay was caused because investigators and reviewers appointed by the insurance company could not produce a conclusive report, on whether the vessel had sank or not.

According to the case details, MSV Chamstar sank near Oman coast in the night of April 10, 1996 while sailing to Dubai from Mumbai. All 19 crew members reached the coast, which was a restricted military area, and they were hence jailed for four days by the Royal Oman Navy. After the efforts of Cham and her business partners in the Middle East, the crew members were released and repatriated to India.

When Cham claimed insurance of Rs 1.02 crore, the insurer asked one Salvage Association to investigate the incident and confirm whether the vessel had capsized. It gave an inconclusive report in July 1996. The insurance company roped in ICIC International Maritime Bureau, which in June 1998 had a slightly different opinion, but it was not conclusive either.

The insurance company then asked WK Webster & Co to review the reports. It said that except the head boatman, Suleman Adam Kara, nobody on board was interviewed. It suggested to check the shipwreck, but it was too late by then. One more opinion was sought by the insurer. On the basis of four opinions, the insurer repudiated the claim in August 2004. For repudiation, it said certain basic formalities in cases of a ship sinking had not been followed.

The woman approached the commission, which perused the documents supplied by the Royal Oman Navy and various official communications. On basis of the official communication and the version of the head boatman, the commission came to a conclusion that the ship had indeed sank off the Oman coast and the procedures could not be followed because the crew members were imprisoned and then repatriated.

Source: The Times of India