§ Lord KENNETasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the maximum possible liability in pounds sterling of the owners of the "Aeolian Sky" under the present law, and what would it be under the 1976 Shipowners Liability Convention which is not yet in force.
§ Lord TREFGARNEIn any case where damage arose from a shipowner or operator's fault or privity his potential liability would be unlimited. In other cases, liability could at present be limited, pursuant to international law, to £119.94 per ship's limitation ton or £38.69 per 1335WA limitation ton if only property claims were involved. As regards the Aeolian Sky two tonnages have been registered corresponding to two different levels of loading. These are 6,594 and 10,715. Accordingly the limits of liability would be £790,884 and £1,285,157 (or £255,121 and £414,563 in respect of property claims alone).
It is not possible at this stage to give the equivalent limits for the Aeolian Sky under the 1976 London Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims since the tonnage figures on which this Convention will be based when it comes into force are not yet available. However, the limits of liability for a ship in the range 3,001 to 30,000 tons would be £194.22 per ship's limitation ton, or £97.40 in respect of claims not involving loss of life or personal injury.