Approximately 700 families of victims of the Al Salam Boccaccio 98 ferry, which sank in the Red Sea in February 2006, will receive €60 million in compensation from Rina, as ordered by the Genoa Civil Court.

The families who had not received any compensation were awarded between €100,000 and €150,000 each for parental damages

Rina has been ordered to pay over €60 million in compensation to approximately 700 families of victims of the Al Salam Boccaccio 98 ferry, which sank in the Red Sea in February 2006, by the Genoa Civil Court. Judge Daniele Bianchi's ruling identifies the classification society's negligent conduct as the primary cause of the sinking, in which 1,071 people lost their lives.

Tirrenia ordered five sister ships of the "Poeti" series.

In 1968, Tirrenia ordered five sister ships of the "Poeti" series. The vessel was one of them. In 1990, the company added four decks to the Boccaccio to increase its capacity and compete with private competitors. In 1999, the five ships were sold to the Egyptian shipowner El Salam Shipping & Trading. In 2002, one of her sister ships, the Petrarca, capsized in the Red Sea following a fire, killing one person. In the early hours of 3 February 2006, disaster struck the Boccaccio: of the approximately 1,400 people on board, mostly migrant workers returning from Saudi Arabia and pilgrims coming back from Mecca, 1,071 perished

The court's technical reconstruction

The court's technical reconstruction starts with a fire that breaks out in the garage, inside a trailer full of luggage. The captain, who was later reported missing, attempted to extinguish the flames using the water system. However, the difficulty of draining the water from the main deck caused the vessel to list progressively to starboard. In an attempt to compensate for this, the port side compartments were ballasted. However, the tanks discharged excess water through the vents rather than overboard, as per construction practice. This resulted in the water being discharged into the garage itself. This accelerated the list, leading to the ship capsizing and sinking.

The approximately 200-page ruling

The judge's 200-page ruling endorsed the expert report that was commissioned by Navy Captain Alfredo Cucinotta and engineers Giovanni Fantoni and Alessio Gnecco at the end of 2022. The most important issue is the classification society's failure to report the design flaw in the inboard discharge of ballast tanks. If this had been reported, the captain would have believed the balancing manoeuvre was effective. The operating instructions, which included a specific Italian warning regarding leaks, were never translated into English or another language that the Egyptian crew could understand. Therefore, RINA's liability does not concern the origin of the fire or orders given to the captain, but rather failures to provide information and supervise a crucial safety element. The ruling also lists 22 other instances of negligence, including deficiencies in crew training and oversight of safety drills.

Compensation for victims' families

Financially, families who had not received compensation were awarded between €100,000 and €150,000 each for parental damages. However, financial damages were deemed insufficiently proven. According to Italian standards, these amounts are approximately ten times higher than those established in Egypt, where the shipowner was convicted on appeal. The court disregarded the Islamic law provision stipulating that women should receive half of what male relatives of the same degree are due, and supplemented the compensation awarded to those who had already received compensation from the Egyptian authorities. The total amount exceeds €60 million, compared to the €300 million requested by the families' lawyers, who were largely represented by Stefano Bertone and Marco Bona of the Turin-based firms Ambrosio Commodo and Bona-Oliva. Rina also paid €3.5 million in legal fees, in addition to €400,000 in disbursements and lump sums.

The Genoese firm expressed its profound disagreement with the verdict,

The first-instance trial dragged on, partly due to a rejected attempt by Rina's lawyers, Giuseppe Giacomini and Francesco Siccardi, to move the case to Panama, the flag state of the Boccaccio ferry.

In a statement, the Genoese company expressed its profound disagreement with the verdict, pointing out that two technical investigations (including that of the flag state), as well as several criminal and administrative proceedings, had concluded over ten years ago that the shipwreck was due to the actions of the shipowner and captain, without attributing any responsibility to RINA. The ruling is subject to appeal.

Source: Italian Media

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