Plantation A Legal Thriller

by J M S Macfarlane

  Chapter 45

  Nothing remarkable was said by Elefthriou about the marine insurance contract and the loss of the Captain Stratos. Garrick kept his questioning brief and wanted Elefthriou out of the witness box before he said anything damaging. But that wasn’t going to happen.

  When Garrick sat down, Arthur Riordan got to his feet and stood at ease, military-style, his hands clasped behind his back. This was the best way to stop them shaking, in the manner of the leading advocates of the bar who tremble during their most profound oratory as if their last moment on earth has arrived.

  “Mr Elefthriou, how many directors does your company have ?”

  “I am the only director.”

  “And you were responsible for the Captain Stratos’ seaworthiness ?”

  “Yes, I was.”

  “Where was the ship headed when she sank ?”

  “Cadiz on the Costa del Sol in Spain.”

  “And from which port had she departed ?”

  “Le Havre, France.”

  “What was her cargo ?”

  “She was carrying three hundred tonnes of coal.”

  “And the ship’s master was Greek – Captain Christoforou ?”

  “Yes – a very experienced master mariner.”

  “And her crew were Philippino – none of them were Greek.”

  “That is correct.”

  “The ship was registered in Panama and flying a Panamanian flag.”

  “Correct.”

  “How old was the Captain Stratos when she sank ?”

  “She was built in 1948.”

  “That would have made her.....thirty five years old. She was getting on a bit, wasn’t she ?”

  “Captain Stratos was in first class condition and...”

  “That is not what I asked you – for her years, she was rather old.”

  Elefthriou was proving to be a difficult witness. He was neither agreeing nor disagreeing with what he was being asked while attempting to gloss over anything embarrassing. Riordan was having to watch his step.

  “There are a large number of ships of that age on the seas.”

  “That’s as maybe but we are talking about a ship which was close to the end of her working life ?”

  “She had many more years left in her.”

  “How many would you say ?”

  “At least twenty.”

  “That would have made her over fifty years old. Are you saying that a vessel of that age could safely put to sea ?”

  “I am – there are ships in service today in Greece which are that old.”

  “And a great many of them sink. Which shipyard built the Captain Stratos?”

  “An Italian yard – Pierina in Genoa.”

  “And during her life of over thirty years, who owned her ?”

  “We bought the ship in 1977. She was originally built for an Italian shipping line, Grazziano and after around ten years was sold to a Spanish line, Vigo Transportes SA.”

  “And during the last thirty years, what cargo did she carry ?”

  “She sailed the Atlantic and Mediterranean routes, transporting Italian and Spanish manufactured goods such as cars to the United States and bringing back mostly American goods and machinery.”

  “The survey report obtained by Stirling Insurance in February 1979 and written by the LRE surveyor in Athens says that the ship had suffered three collisions during her life and had to be re-fitted on twelve occasions after 1968 due to “structural weaknesses” in the forward hull. Did that worry you when you bought the vessel ?”

  “Not at all. Our own surveyor in Athens went over her very carefully and found her to be in excellent condition. I trusted his examination.”

  “The LRE report says that during her last three years, the ship had extensive repairs and re-fitting on four separate occasions, the most recent only two months before she sank. Is that correct ?”

  “This type of work is nothing unusual.”

  “Mr Elefthriou, please answer the question – yes or no ?”

  “Yes, it is correct but so what ? It made no difference to...”

  “So, with all of this re-fitting work, it must have been expensive for Hellas Global to keep paying repair bills all the time. Was it expensive for you ?”

  “We could afford it.”

  “Were there large repair bills ?”

  “Nothing we couldn’t handle.”

  At this stage, Riordan grew exasperated and temporarily halted his questioning. “My Lord, would you please direct the witness to answer my questions so that we can understand whether he is agreeing with what I am asking him or he does not agree ?”

  “It may assist if your enquiries were less wide-ranging,” said the judge. “Now, Mr Elefthriou, please do your best to answer yes or no to the questions you’re being asked. We need to understand what happened and for that, we need your co-operation as to whether certain events took place or not.”

  Elefthriou merely nodded and said “Yes, sir.”

  Riordan ruffled his black gown onto his shoulders and pulled it back on one side while rolling a pencil nervously between his fingers. His horsehair wig was itching his scalp and he moved it backwards and forwards to ease the irritation.

  He always felt ridiculous in the get-up he had to wear in court. Wearing a fancy dress costume in the most serious and sober of venues was somewhat surreal.

  “Looking at the last accounts your company filed with the Greek companies register, Hellas Global made no profit at all in 1980. Is that right, Mr Elefthriou ?”

  “Our profits have since improved.” And then noticing a look of annoyance from the judge, he said “Uh, but in 1980 we did not make a profit.”

  “In fact, in 1980 you made a very large loss, didn’t you ?”

  “Yes, we did but since then our business has improved – the shipping trade goes in cycles – and there have been several....”

  “How much did Hellas Global spend on repairing the Captain Stratos during the past three years ?”

  “I can’t remember – I don’t carry all of these figures around with me.”

  “They were very substantial amounts, weren’t they ?”

  “For us, they were affordable.”

  “But all the same, very substantial amounts ?”

  “Yes. They were expensive. All shipyard work is expensive.”

  “You were asked several times by Plantation to produce copies of your recent accounts. You failed to do this. Do you have Hellas Global’s up-to-date accounts for the last 3 years so that we can see what has been happening ?”

  Elefthriou merely looked skywards and said nothing.

  “Well, Mr Elefthriou ?”

  “Accounts take time to prepare. Our accountant is a busy man...”

  “Can you get these accounts for us tomorrow ? I’m sure his Lordship would also be interested to see what they say.”

  After a quick look at the judge, Ransome said, “They should be available for tomorrow’s hearing, my Lord.”

  Riordan continued. “Do you know what your company’s financial position is at the moment, Mr Elefthriou ?”

  “Of course, I do.”

  “And what is it ?”

  “We are.....comfortable.”

  “Does ‘comfortable’ mean Hellas Global is close to bankruptcy ?”

  “What ? That’s absurd. Of course not.”

  “But Hellas Global has almost run out of money, hasn’t it ? That’s why you’d prefer that we didn’t see your accounts. Isn’t it ? You’ve been trying to hide your company’s true financial position ?”

  “No. That’s a lie. I am not hiding anything.”

  “Does Hellas Global employ a Dimitros Kyriacou ?”

  “Kyriacou ? No....no....there is no Kyriacou working for us.”

  “A man of that name spoke with Mr Robert Ashby of Plantation on Saturday evening in Athens at the Georgios Hotel. He told Mr Ashby that he represented your company and he talked about the Captain Stratos.”
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br />   “I know of no such person.”

  “Mr Kyriacou knew all about your company’s claim here in London and the hearing in court today. If you don’t employ him, how do you account for that ?”

  Elefthriou merely shrugged his shoulders. “I cannot comment about someone I do not know – he is an imposter. Many people may know about our claim – it has been reported in the shipping news in Piraeus.”

  “Remarkably, this Kyriacou had a strong resemblance to the deceased master of the Captain Stratos, Constantinos Christoforou.”

  Again, Elefthriou shrugged his shoulders and raised his hands with open palms upwards as if to say that he had no explanation to offer.

  “I suggest to you that Kyriacou was in fact Christoforou and that both of you scuttled the Captain Stratos to claim on the policy.”

  At this, there was a murmur in the back of the court from the journalists and spectators at the mention of the word ‘scuttled’.

  “You’re mad. Everyone knows that Captain Stratos sank in a heavy storm. The master of the ship, Christoforou lost his life along with the crew.”

  One or two journalists left the courtroom to ring their newsrooms as Monty Ransome leapt to his feet.

  “My Lord, this is an outrageous accusation to be making after this case has been continuing for the past two years. No allegation of fraud has been made in the pleadings, there is nothing in the documents about it and today is the very first time it has been mentioned by anyone. Earlier this morning outside the courtroom, Plantation’s director, Mr Ashby made a similar accusation of fraud in a conversation he had with my client’s London agent, Mr Thanakis. As far as I am aware, there is no police enquiry or criminal investigation in progress regarding the Captain Stratos and I would ask my friend, Mr Riordan – where is there any evidence of fraud ? Even if there was any, it is now far too late to ask the court to consider it.”

  The judge looked down at his papers and merely said “Mr Riordan ?”

  “My Lord, Plantation is convinced that this claim is tainted by dishonesty and criminality which has been expertly concealed. If your Lordship shared our concerns – and it could dispose of the claim altogether – we believe that with some additional time of say, a further six months, Plantation could produce the necessary evidence so that the claim would be withdrawn and those at fault, prosecuted.”

  While this was being said, the judge was biting his nails while staring down at Riordan, his eyes growing wider in amazement, the more he listened. Then, in exasperation, he spluttered in anger : “Mr Riordan. Are you seriously asking me to adjourn the hearing for a further six months, merely on the possibility that your client is going to turn up evidence of fraud ? Plantation has had two years to carry out its investigations and get its case ready and....”

  Sweat was running down Riordan’s back. His hands gripped the pencil tightly behind him, almost to breaking point.

  “My Lord, my client sincerely regrets having to make this application at all – their former managing director – Mr Ashby’s father, only passed away a matter of days ago and Mr Robert Ashby himself has only been back in this country for just over a week after a very lengthy absence in the United States.”

  “Kindly do not interrupt me. It is regrettable to hear of the difficulties which have been thrown in your client’s way but this claim has to be decided one way or the other. Enough time has been allowed for Plantation to unearth evidence of fraud. Unless categoric proof is placed in front of me during the trial that the claim has been prompted by fraud and criminal activity, I will continue to hear the witnesses who are due to be called and I will base my judgment on the evidence put before me. That is all that I can do and all that I have to say on the matter.”

  For Riordan, it had all been a foregone conclusion. It was fanciful to imagine that Hedley would delay the hearing any further. And it would have made no difference if he‘d asked for an adjournment before the trial started – it would have been refused. But Ashby had wanted to make a point.

  Riordan merely acknowledged the judge’s ruling and said : “I only have a few more questions for this witness, my Lord and I would ask for the court’s indulgence on the subject of Captain Christoforou.”

  “Be brief,” was all the judge would say, indicating he was losing patience. Riordan had no intention of prolonging the ordeal. He was stifling in his black gown and beneath his jacket, his shirt was clinging to him with perspiration.

  “Mr Elefthriou, how well did you know Captain Christoforou ?”

  “I knew him as an experienced sea captain who commanded many Greek ships during his career and who was trusted by many Greek shipowners, not just my company.”

  “Do you know the directors of Hermes Transnational Shipping ?”

  “Uh, yes...I know them. I know all of the shipowners in Athens.”

  “Were you aware that Captain Christoforou commanded one of Hermes’ ships, the Aegean Star in 1979 ?”

  “No....no, I wasn’t aware of it. Ships’ captains can sail on many different ships from one year to the next.”

  “Did Captain Christoforou mention anything to you about the Aegean Star ?”

  “No, he didn’t tell me anything about it.”

  “But you read the shipping news, you said so earlier yourself.”

  “Yes, I do but I don’t read it all from cover to cover.”

  “If there had been a Marine Board of Enquiry in Athens, is it something which would have caught your attention ?”

  “Yes, normally it would.”

  “And you’ve already said that you know all the shipping companies in Piraeus and Athens and presumably, it is a close-knit circle as all of you are not only competitors but probably help each other out from time to time.”

  “Yes, yes, we all know each other.”

  “Then were you aware that Captain Christoforou was accused by the mate of the Aegean Star of scuttling his ship ?”

  “No, I did not know that.”

  “But you’ve said you would have known about any Board of Enquiry.”

  “Yes, but this was years ago and I may have overlooked it or been out of the country as I am now or been very busy at the time.”

  “But, Mr Elefthriou – this is a Board of Enquiry – the most serious type of investigation by the Greek shipping authorities – where a Greek Captain is accused of sinking his own ship. Surely the name of the ship and the Captain would not have escaped your attention – especially if he approached you in the future to sail one of your own ships ?”

  “I have told you, I don’t recall it, so I can’t help you any further.”

  “No-one at the other companies mentioned it to you ? There was no gossip about it ? No scandal implicating Hermes ?”

  “I knew nothing about it – I said that.”

  “Is that the truth, Mr Elefthriou ? Or was Christoforou the perfect man to scuttle the Captain Stratos ?”

  Again, an uproar was heard in the courtroom as Hellas’ legal team bridled at the word ‘scuttled’. Elefthriou protested he was being unfairly treated.

  This time it was Garrick who halted the cross-examination.

  “My Lord, may this witness be released ? I’m afraid my friend is going well beyond the limits of patience which the Court has – the Enquiry he refers to, never took place and the allegations made against Captain Christoforou about the Aegean Star were later withdrawn. So, it really is the most frightful irrelevancy to what we’re dealing with today.”

  Riordan said that he had no further questions and Elefthriou was relieved at last to stand down. Ransome then called a further three witnesses : Hellas Global’s port manager, its European agent and its London agent, Spiro Thanakis who was an unimpressive witness. Riordan had nothing to ask them and decided to keep his gunpowder dry for a subsequent broadside. He felt as if he’d scored a few direct hits while Ashby in the back of the courtroom was motionless with the hint of a smile as enigmatic as the Mona Lisa.