Uni-Tanker’s Financial Liability Limited in 2022 Anchor Dragging Incident

A Danish court has found that although the master of a tanker acted with negligence in an anchor-dragging incident that severed a subsea power cable, the shipping company’s liability is limited. The case, which dates to February 2022, comes as the issue of anchor dragging and intent and awareness of the situation has been raised after similar incidents in the Baltic that are under legal review.

This case stems from February 26, 2022, when the island of Bornholm was plunged into darkness with Swedish energy company Energinet quickly determining that one of its undersea power cables had been severely damaged. Power was restored within a few hours with a reserve generation station on the island while it would take over a month to repair the cable.

The product tanker Samus Swan was quickly identified as the likely cause of the power failure. Tracking showed the 5,700 dwt vessel, which is registered in Denmark, had been in the channel offshore but initially denied responsibility. Danish shipping company Uni-Tankers, which operates the vessel, later admitted responsibility but said it was an accident due in part to heavy weather.

Energinet sued in 2023 reporting that it had cost the company nearly $8 million to repair the cable. The process took till March 2022, with the company reporting more than 2.5 miles of cable had to be replaced.

The judges on Denmark’s Maritime and Commercial Court issued a ruling on July 4 finding that while they agreed the captain showed negligence, they do not believe it rose to the level of gross negligence because there was no knowledge of the likelihood of damage to the cable. Media reports are citing details from the verdict that say the crew did not recognize that the anchor had dropped. The report says that when the vessel started to lose speed, the captain focused on the engines. Two of the experts on the panel believed the captain’s behavior was negligent, while a third said it was gross negligence.

The court’s decision permits Uni-Tanker to limit the level of liability to a maximum of approximately $4.3 million (DKK 27.2 million). Energinet had been suing for approximately $6 million (DKK 38 million).

The power company released a statement saying it was saddened by the decision. It is reviewing the verdict and by law, has the right to appeal to the High Court.

The decision was released the same day another master was brought into court on similar charges. Reuters reports the Chinese master of the containership NewNew Polar Bear made his first appearance in a Hong Kong Court after being charged by the Chinese maritime authority with having caused “criminal damage” after the vessel was determined to have dragged its anchor across a natural gas pipeline and communication cables in the Baltic. Again, at issue is the intent or if it was reckless behavior that caused the damage.

Swedish prosecutors in February 2025 released a Navibulgar vessel finding that it was an accidental release of the anchor. They said the crew was unaware of the dragging incident and determined it was poor seamanship and damaged equipment that caused the incident.

Finish authorities have been investigating the case of the NewNew Polar Bear and others in the Baltic but have yet to reach a decision if they will file charges. The utility companies Fingrid and Elering initially detained the shadow fleet tanker Eagle S in the most recent incident but released the vessel while seeking compensation in the courts. Finish prosecutors are said to be reviewing the details of the Eagle S case while the captain and the first and second officers of the Eagle S remain under suspicion and have been ordered not to leave Finland. A decision to prosecute is expected by September.