Supreme Court junks Cebu shipyard's plea

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed with finality its ruling last year ordering Keppel Cebu Shipyard Inc. (KCSI) to pay an insurance firm over P400 million for damages in the passenger ship that was gutted by fire while being repaired at its dry dock in Cebu in February 2000.

In a five-page resolution issued last Monday, the SC’s Second Division junked KCSI’s second appeal seeking reconsideration of its ruling on Sept. 25, 2009 that held the firm liable for what happened to SuperFerry 3 owned by William, Gothong and Aboitiz Lines, after the KCSI failed to prove that it exercised necessary diligence to prevent the fire.