Saddleback Shipping Ltd (the claimant) brought an action against FSUE Atomflot (the defendant) and JSC VSK, the defendant's insurer, for damages caused by the allision of the Ob, owned by the defendant, with the Fedor Litke. The Fedor Litke was owned by Hai Kuo Shipping 1602 Ltd. The claimant was a bareboat charterer of the Fedor Litke. The ship's manager was Dynagas Ltd. The ship was time chartered by Yamal Trade Pte Ltd.

On 30 January 2021, the Ob carried out icebreaking operations around the Fedor Litke. During these operations, the Ob collided with the Fedor Litke, damaging its hull. According to the official report of Rostransnadzor, the cause of the incident was an unsafe manoeuvre by the Ob. The same cause was confirmed by an inspection conducted by Seames, hired by the Fedor Litke’s insurer. In accordance with the classification society's requirements, the Fedor Litke was repaired. The claimant claimed repair costs and associated expenses, and loss of profit resulting from the incident.

The Court of first instance found in favour of the claimant in part. The Court concluded that the claimant succeeded in proving only part of the losses. The defendant submitted an appeal. The claimant also submitted an appeal, arguing that the Court of first instance unjustifiably decreased the damages to be compensated. The Court of Appeal found that both appeals were justified in part. The parties submitted a cassation appeal.

Held: The judgments of the Court of first instance and the Court of Appeal are reversed. The case is sent to the Court of first instance for reconsideration in part.

Under art 312 of the Merchant Shipping Code of Russia (the MSC RF), if a collision is caused by the fault of one of the ships, liability to make good the damage attaches to the ship that committed the fault. Based on this provision, the Court of first instance and the Court of appeal found that, in the case of an allision where one ship is stationary and another ship collides with it, the ship which allided with the stationary ship is fully to blame. Therefore, the damages caused to the Fedor Litke, including the loss of profit, should have been fully compensated by the defendant. The Court of cassation confirmed that the findings of the Court of first instance and the Court of appeal with regard to this issue were similar. The Court of cassation disagreed with the quantification of those damages and interest and, on that basis, sent the judgment back for reconsideration.