G.R. No.

100446 January 21, 1993

ABOITIZ SHIPPING CORPORATION vs. GENERAL ACCIDENT FIRE AND LIFE ASSURANCE CORPORATION, LTD.
MELO, J.:

Facts:

Petitioner is a corporation organized and operating under Philippine laws and engaged in the business of maritime trade as a
carrier. It owned and operated "M/V P. ABOITIZ," a common carrier which sank on a voyage from Hongkong to the Philippines on
October 31, 1980. Private respondent General Accident Fire and Life Assurance Corporation, Ltd. (GAFLAC), is a foreign insurance
company pursuing its remedies as a subrogee of several cargo consignees whose respective cargo sank with the said vessel and for
which it has priorly paid.

The vessel's sinking gave rise to the filing of suits for recovery of lost cargo either by the shippers, their successor-in-interest,
or the cargo insurers like GAFLAC as subrogees. The sinking was initially investigated and found that such sinking was due to force
majeure and that subject vessel, at the time of the sinking was seaworthy. The trial court found against the carrier on the basis that the
loss subject matter therein did not occur as a result of force majeure. Plaintiff GAFLAC was allowed to prove, and. was later awarded, its
claim.

Issue:
Whether the Limited Liability Rule arising out of the real and hypothecary nature of maritime law should apply in this and related cases.

Whether or not there is a finding of negligence on the part of the owner in the instant case.

Ruling:

The real and hypothecary nature of maritime law simply means that the liability of the carrier in connection with losses
related to maritime contracts is confined to the vessel, which is hypothecated for such obligations or which stands as the guaranty for
their settlement. It has its origin by reason of the conditions and risks attending maritime trade in its earliest years when such trade was
replete with innumerable and unknown hazards since vessels had to go through largely uncharted waters to ply their trade. It was
designed to offset such adverse conditions and to encourage people and entities to venture into maritime commerce despite the risks
and the prohibitive cost of shipbuilding. Thus, the liability of the vessel owner and agent arising from the operation of such vessel were
confined to the vessel itself, its equipment, freight, and insurance, if any, which limitation served to induce capitalists into effectively
wagering their resources against the consideration of the large profits attainable in the trade.

It might be noteworthy to add in passing that despite the modernization of the shipping industry and the development of
high-technology safety devices designed to reduce the risks therein, the limitation has not only persisted, but is even practically
absolute in well-developed maritime countries such as the United States and England where it covers almost all maritime casualties.
Philippine maritime law is of Anglo-American extraction, and is governed by adherence to both international maritime conventions and
generally accepted practices relative to maritime trade and travel.

Its application has been well-nigh constricted by the very statute from which it originates. The Limited Liability Rule in the
Philippines is taken up in Book III of the Code of Commerce, particularly in Articles 587, 590, and 837, hereunder quoted in toto:

Art. 587. The ship agent shall also be civilly liable for the indemnities in favor of third persons which may arise from the
conduct of the captain in the care of the goods which he loaded on the vessel; but he may exempt himself therefrom by abandoning
the vessel with all her equipment and the freight it may have earned during the voyage.

Art. 590. The co-owners of a vessel shall be civilly liable in the proportion of their interests in the common fund for the
results of the acts of the captain referred to in Art. 587.

Each co-owner may exempt himself from this liability by the abandonment, before a notary, of the part of the vessel
belonging to him.

Art. 837. The civil liability incurred by shipowners in the case prescribed in this section (on collisions), shall be understood as
limited to the value of the vessel with all its appurtenances and freightage served during the voyage.

The only time the Limited Liability Rule does not apply is when there is an actual finding of negligence on the part of the
vessel owner or agent.
 The Court holds that the vessel M/V "Aboitiz" and its cargo were not lost due to fortuitous event or force majeure. The cause
of the sinking of the vessel was because of unseaworthiness due to the failure of the crew and the master to exercise extraordinary
diligence. Indeed, there appears to have been no evidence presented sufficient to form a conclusion that petitioner shipowner itself
was negligent, and no tribunal, including this Court will add or subtract to such evidence to justify a conclusion to the contrary.

Unseaworthiness is not a fault that can be laid squarely on petitioner's lap, absent a factual basis for such a conclusion. The
unseaworthiness found in some cases where the same has been ruled to exist is directly attributable to the vessel's crew and captain,
among the inherent duties of a captain is to examine a vessel before sailing and to comply with the laws of navigation. The finding of
"unseaworthiness" clearly did not pertain to the structural condition of the vessel which is the basis of the BMI's findings, but to the
condition it was in at the time of the sinking, which condition was a result of the acts of the captain and the crew.

The rights of a vessel owner or agent under the Limited Liability Rule are akin to those of the rights of shareholders to limited
liability under our corporation law. Both are privileges granted by statute, and while not absolute, must be swept aside only in the
established existence of the most compelling of reasons. In the absence of such reasons, this Court chooses to exercise prudence and
shall not sweep such rights aside on mere whim or surmise, for even in the existence of cause to do so, such incursion is definitely
punitive in nature and must never be taken lightly.

In the instant case, there is, therefore, a need to collate all claims preparatory to their satisfaction from the insurance
proceeds on the vessel M/V P. Aboitiz and its pending freightage at the time of its loss. No claimant can be given precedence over the
others by the simple expedience of having filed or completed its action earlier than the rest. Thus, execution of judgment in earlier
completed cases, even those already final and executory, must be stayed pending completion of all cases occasioned by the subject
sinking. Then and only then can all such claims be simultaneously settled, either completely or pro-rata should the insurance proceeds
and freightage be not enough to satisfy all claims.