R&R Statement: legal support by Interlegal due to seafarer’s death

Accidents during voyage, unfortunately, happen quite often. Due to such tragic cases, international maritime community developed settlement procedure in the form of reimbursement in favor of next of kins due to seafarer’s death.

Such a settlement procedure is usually fixed in contracts between shipowner and crewing agency (or maritime trade union) and stipulates vital issues upon dispute settlement with deceased seafarer’s next of kins, e.g. reimbursement amount, scope beneficiaries, payment terms and others.

Neither legislation nor judicial practice prescribe a fixed reimbursement amount due to seafarer’s death; therefore, it shall be determined at the discretion of parties to the contract.

While entering into employment contracts with shipowners, seafarers shall indicate therein next of kin who will receive reimbursement due to seafarer’s death; however, the whole payment procedure in favor of next of kin is not set out / duplicated in the contract.

Since Interlegal has vast experience in settlement of disputes with next of kins, a P&I Club applied to us for dispute settlement, legal support of signing R&R Statement and payment of reimbursement due to seafarer’s death.

A keystone in this case was to determine a scope of beneficiaries. Based on circumstances concerning family of the deceased, principal issue was the following: who shall have a right on reimbursement among his family members? Interlegal lawyers analyzed documents and the current situation, determined a scope of beneficiaries and amount payable in favor of next of kins, held negotiations with family members, developed and carried out procedure of signing R&R Statement, jointly with legal support of the case till the moment of cost enrollment to beneficiary’s account.

Interlegal lawyer & attorney-at-law Irina Maltseva managed by associate partner & attorney-at-law Karyna Gorovaya led the case.