On 11 May 2019, the Sunny, Mr Y's vessel, collided with three moored boats, including Mr F's boat, the Hermine. The river brigade responded to the scene and found that Mr F's boat had a deformation on the front part of its hull. The plaintiff, the latter’s insurer, instructed Esa Nord to assess its insured’s boat. At the same time, SAM L'Alliance Batelière de la Sambre Belge mandated Cabinet Mascart for the same purposes. Esa Nord and Cabinet Mascart both concluded that the master of the Sunny had lost control of its vessel and that there was damage to the hull of the Hermine, which the former estimated at EUR 15,939, while the latter estimated it at EUR 6,132.

By an email dated 15 April 2020, SA AXA France IARD formally notified SAM L'Alliance Batelière de la Sambre Belge to pay EUR 15,939 for the loss. By letter dated 5 May 2020, the latter made an offer of compensation for EUR 6,132. The applicants sued.

Held: Judgment for the plaintiffs for EUR 6,132.

Article L 5131-3 of the Transport Code provides:

If the collision is caused by the fault of one of the vessels, the repair of the damage is the responsibility of the party that committed it. If the collision is fortuitous, if it is due to a case of force majeure or if there is doubt as to the causes of the accident, the damages are borne by those who suffered them, without distinguishing the case where either the ships or one of them was at anchor at the time of the collision.

Article L 5131-4 of the Transport Code provides:

If there is common fault, the liability of each is proportional to the seriousness of the faults respectively committed. However, if, according to the circumstances, the proportion cannot be established or if the faults appear to be equivalent, the liability is shared equally. The damages caused either to the ships, or to their cargo, or to the effects or other property of the crews, passengers or other persons on board, are borne by the ships at fault, in this proportion, without solidarity with third parties.

Vessels at fault are jointly and severally liable towards third parties for damage caused by death or injury, except for recourse by the party who has paid a share greater than that which he must definitively bear, in accordance with the provisions of the second para.

It can be inferred from art L4132-1 of the Transport Code that all of these provisions are also applicable in the event of a collision between a ship and a boat. Article 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure requires each party to provide proof of the facts that it invokes in support of its claims, so that it is up to the victim of the collision to prove the fault of the party causing it.

The email from the river brigade reveals that Mr Y told the police that 'during his U-turn manoeuvre, he suffered a loss of engine power which prevented him from righting his boat'. It must be considered that the master's lack of control of the vessel during the execution of the U-turn manoeuvre, while boats were nearby, constitutes a fault.

In consideration of the lack of analysis and costing of the repairs, it is appropriate to retain the precise costing carried out by Cabinet Mascart, it being recalled that the burden of proof lies with the applicants. The applicants are therefore entitled to payment of EUR 6,132.