IN THE COURT OF APPEAL
AT NAIROBI
Coram: Hancox JA, Chesoni and Nyarangi Ag JJA
CIVIL APPEAL NO. 16 OF 1982
BETWEEN
CARL RONNING...........................................................................APPELLANT
AND
SOCIETE NAVALE CHARGEURS DELMAS VIELJEUX
( THE FRANCOIS VIELJEUX)..................................................RESPONDENT
(Appeal from the High Court at Mombasa, Kneller J)
JUDGMENT
On February 14, 1979 the vessel Francois Vieljeux bound for Rotterdam Hamburg and Bremen in West Germany, and having sailed from Mombasa in this country on January 26, encountered severe weather conditions and sank off the Coast of Portugal, some 30 miles from the port of Vigo. Twenty-three people were drowned in the disaster and the cargo was a total loss. Only the Master of the ship, the chief officer, and three others, survived. They were French, as were all the crew, and the ship was registered in France and sailed under the French flag.
An inquiry was set up by the French Ministry of Merchant Mar…