Ship captain ordered to pay Lm1m damages

The captain of a ship was yesterday ordered to pay Enemalta nearly Lm1 million damages for an accident which led to a power cut all over Gozo after the ship's anchor became entangled with an electrical cable lying on the seabed.

Captain Khaled Mohammed El Sayed El Bellasy, of the Marwa M, was condemned to bear the damages after Enemalta withdrew its suit against the owners of the ship.

The writ was originally filed against El Bellasy and owners Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, Mohammed Nagi Farag Sarhan and Amazing Sail Navigational.

Mr Justice Joseph R. Micallef noted that the defendants failed to respond with any pleas to the corporation's writ and the court proceeded to examine whether the claims in the writ were justified.

He learnt that the electrical circuits at the Delimara Power Station showed that electrical power in Gozo had been cut off last November 25.

Enemalta immediately investigated the matter and found that the Marwa M had been in the vicinity of the electrical cable between Malta and Gozo even though no vessel was permitted to anchor in that area.

Divers engaged by the corporation noted that the vessel's anchor was caught in the cable and it resulted that there were perforations in the cable's lead sheath over a length of 30 metres.

It resulted that the cable could not be fixed, as it had been affected by salt water, and had to be totally replaced.

An estimate of the costs of the new cable amounted to Lm921,324 and Mr Justice Micallef ordered the captain to pay the damage.

Dr Ann Fenech was counsel to Enemalta.