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The proliferation of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and around the Indian Ocean has caused the shipping and insurance industry to consider issues which have not arisen for many years - the last piracy case to be heard in the English Courts being in 1590 (Hicks -v- Palington (1590)).
In the case of Masefield, the Court of Appeal, upholding the judgment at first instance[[http://www.onlinedmc.co.uk/index.php/Masefield_v_Amlin]], decided that the hijacking by Somali pirates of a vessel, its crew and its cargo for ransom did not result in the cargo becoming an actual total loss in terms of s.57 (1) of the Marine Insurance Act 1906. The Court further confirmed that the payment of a ransom to the pirates was not contrary to public policy
This note is based on a note of the case prepared by Christopher Dunn and Matthew Wilmshurst of the London firm of solicitors, Waltons & Morse LLP [http://www.waltonsandmorse.com] who acted for the respondent insurers. The note first appeared on the firm’s website on 26 January 2011
