The German field hockey team won their second Olympic gold this year and to celebrate they took a cruise aboard the MS Deutschland on August 11th. The team partied hard to the point that the cruise company had to dock the ship and deemed it unfit for service. The cruise company is seeking for the team to pay the damages in order to make the ship fit-for-service once again, but the bill for the same is not small at all and apparent from the photos which were released in the German media.
The players were smoking cigars on the ship which the cruise owners’ claim resulted in long lasting damages. It seems that holes have been burned in the teak paneling of the casino, a broken pane of glass was found, as well as numerous stains from spilled drinks. And as if these damages were not enough, it seems that the biggest expense which will be billed to the players will be the docking of the ship.
The damages cannot be repaired while the ship is in service, thus the ship will have to be docked which in the business world translates to losing money for every cruise that has not been taken and the docking time and fees which the company has to opt upfront. The Deilmann shipping company spokeswoman Kornelia Kneissl said that for every day on land the shipping company gets charged 75,000 euros.
Just when the matters seemed to be going in the right direction with the apology for the damages from the captain of the team which was presented with the signed hockey stick to the company, the company presented the team with a bill for 500,000euros in damages. And even though the shipping company is ready to take the German Hockey Association to court if the full amount is not paid, the matter would not be as simple as open and shut case.
Even though the team members are a part of the German Hockey Association, the matter is not organizational thus may not fall on their liability. Any physical damage made by the team members on their own free time would be considered as individual liability, said Mr. Burkhand Benecken who is a lawyer in Germany. In other words, if each individual member of the team admits to their wrong doing, this fight for damages may continue indefinitely.
