7 million penalty for the shipping firm behind the sunken barges in Gran Tarajal
The Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) has ordered Cargo Lanzarote to pay €7.15 million for the damage caused by the vessels that sank at Gran Tarajal’s pier after the passage of Storm Emma in 2018.
The TSJC has confirmed that the consignee Cargo Lanzarote must pay €7,153,703.78 to Puertos Canarios for:
- the removal of several sunken vessels from the Gran Tarajal port,
- the containment of oil spills, and
- the repair of damage to the port facilities caused by the storm on 28 February 2018.
The court ruled that the company had been warned about the meteorological risk, failed to adopt effective preventive measures, and that the claim was not time‑barred.
The administrative‑law chamber of the TSJC, based in Las Palmas, upheld the appeal filed by Puertos Canarios and reversed the earlier decision of the Administrative Litigation Court No. 1 of Las Palmas, which had ruled in favor of Cargo Lanzarote.
The dispute centered on the resolutions issued on 25 July 2022 by the president of Puertos Canarios, in which the Canary Islands government agency demanded that the consignee cover the costs of removing the sunken vessels and repairing damage to the public port domain. The TSJC’s judgment supports the port authority’s claim in the second instance, particularly regarding the rehabilitation work of the pier that the public administration had undertaken.
“The requirements were not attended to effectively,” the court noted, emphasizing that the sinking caused contaminant spills and serious damage to the port infrastructure.
Despite the court’s ruling, many locals initially blamed Puertos Canarios for initially accepting the sunken vessels, which were considered “scrap”.
The Sunken Barges Caused by Storm Emma (2018)
According to the judgment, the events date back to 28 February 2018, when Storm Emma caused the sinking, inside the Gran Tarajal harbor, of several vessels used for maritime works belonging to the fleet operated by K‑Marine Co. Ltd. Cargo Lanzarote acted as the consignee for those vessels.
Before the accident, the port administration had issued formal requests to both the shipowner and the consignee to adopt safety measures in anticipation of adverse weather, including reinforcing moorings and other preventive actions.
The court rejected the argument that the liability was a civil, extra‑contractual claim subject to a one‑year prescription period. Instead, it held that the obligation stems from port regulations, which impose on parties involved in vessel operations the duty to bear removal costs and damages caused.
An administrative resolution issued in April 2018 had already declared the shipowner and the consignee responsible. That resolution was notified to Cargo Lanzarote and became final because the company did not appeal.
Consequently, the TSJC concluded that the contested resolutions did not re‑establish liability but merely quantified the amounts owed. The court therefore dismissed any attempt by the company to reopen the issue that had already been settled administratively and judicially.
The court also rejected the claim of force majeure, stating that the storm was foreseeable given prior weather warnings and explicit administrative directives to implement preventive measures.
Technical reports, supporting documentation, and the administrative file were accepted as proof of the damages and expenses claimed.
Cargo Lanzarote was ordered to pay the costs of the first‑instance proceedings and the appeal, with the latter capped at a maximum of €5,000 for all concepts. A further appeal to the Supreme Court (cassation) remains possible.
A Sinking That Disrupted Pier Activity for Months
The wreck of the barges and auxiliary vessels Taegil 1 and Taehung 2 in Gran Tarajal sparked widespread indignation and concern among residents.
According to the Fuerteventura Digital archive, by October 2018—eight months after the storm—Puertos Canarios reported the fifth maritime transfer of wreckage. A barge carried roughly 500 tons of steel from the Taegil 1 barge to a waste‑treatment facility in the port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
In that operation, Puertos Canarios explained that Taegil 1 lay sunk on the outer alignment of the commercial pier, near the entrance, and that the work involved decontamination, cutting, hoisting of sections, laminating, and loading onto a pontoon.
After that removal, the Taehung 2 still needed to be refloated; it had already been cut into eight sections through underwater maneuvers. Puertos Canarios linked the recovery of space to emergency‑funded port improvement works, budgeting approximately €600,000, and to the anticipated arrival of a cruise ship in December of that year.