Mohamed Edris...[was]...working...on the...Eurus London [ship] at the Ferdous Steel Corporation shipyard in Chittagong... The propeller broke free...It sliced off his left leg below the knee, blinded him in one eye and nearly broke his back.

The yard paid for his hospital treatment, gave him 125,000 Bangladeshi taka (£1,142) compensation and 460 Bdt (£4.32) a week for nine months...[I]n a legal test case Zodiac Maritime, the London-based shipping company that managed the Eurus London until it was sold for scrap, could be held responsible...

...“Shipowners shield themselves from responsibility through the use of cash buyers...[who] sell off the ships for the highest price offered,” says [the] director of Shipbreaking Platform...

...In a statement to the Observer, Zodiac said the accident occurred four months after the ship had been sold to a third-party buyer...[I]t said: “We deny any liability for the injuries suffered by Mr Edris and we dispute the claim.”

It added: “The yard where Mr Edris was employed was not Zodiac’s contractor and Zodiac did not select the yard used to dismantle the vessel. Zodiac has no control over the working practices at shipbreaking yards. The claim seeks to extend the law of negligence beyond any recognised boundaries. It is the law of Bangladesh which applies to this case”...