The Hybrid Enemy by Ross Richard D

Author:Ross, Richard D
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: 978-1-7778601-1-0
Published: 2021-09-04T00:00:00+00:00

23

Chapter 23

David Morris returned from Immingham as fast as he could. He wanted an urgent meeting with his boss, Peter Owens.

‘So, David, you managed to complete your insurance assessment of Wayfarer while she was docked at Immingham.’

‘Yes, Peter, I did. Take a look at my preliminary report. I will need a few days however, to complete the composite report on all the Euro-Asian vessels. I still have to consolidate the metallurgy reports, add my survey results and photographic evidence.’

‘Okay, David.’ Peter Owens sat behind his desk and quietly studied every detail of the report and photographs. Finally he sat back and said, ‘we have enough evidence here to suspend all our insurance coverage with Euro-Asian with immediate effect. We also have enough evidence to go after Ben Mitchell, who reported only one month ago that Wayfarer was completely seaworthy. He then read aloud one passage written by David:

‘This twenty-six-year-old vessel has substantial corrosion that has wasted away most of her metalwork. It looks like a lace curtain. Several holes have been plugged with cotton waste instead of being patched with steel. The manhole covers were patched with plastic, which doesn’t prevent leaking. It is the worst case I’ve seen in my career to date.’

There was silence.

‘It’s damning, isn’t it?’ Peter said and, without waiting for a reply, he continued, ‘These actions are entirely criminal. We will not be under any liability to pay out for any insurable losses that Euro-Asian Freight Services might claim in the meantime.’

Peter then pulled out David’s previous report on the stricken vessel Solstice, in the Middle East. He checked the original engineering reports and photographs that David had made. He also checked the previous survey of the vessel that Ben Mitchell of Blue Water Maritime Bureau had signed off on only two months before. Descriptions and photos of the same bulkheads did not match at all from the two reports. It was as though Ben Mitchell had inspected a completely different vessel than the one David had inspected.

Next, Peter and David went over a composite report of repair and maintenance costs on similar spec’d vessels of comparative years. Euro-Asian’s costs per vessel were way below the industry average. Peter stated that they could be especially useful to have as testimony in a court of law and might lead to some interesting revelations under cross-examination of an impartial qualified subject matter expert.

Following this, they discussed the loss of Endeavour. Everything they discussed, however, was based on supposition, since all the real evidence lay at the bottom of the South Atlantic. Ben Mitchell’s inspection reports would never be able to be verified. Peter thought some more about this for a few minutes.

‘You know, David, we may be able to shed some light on this after all. We received a letter from a Mr Sultan Dastagir some months ago. He was a deckhand on the vessel at the time. I have a copy of the letter here. What’s interesting is that he states that Endeavour was in a very unfit, unseaworthy condition.

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