Insurers may be facing an estimated $80 million tab following the loss of the Norwegian cargo ship, Tricolor, that had been carrying luxury cars from Belgium to southern England, and then on to the United States. The Tricolor, loaded with nearly 3,000 Volvos, BMWs, and Saabs collided with the Kariba, a container ship registered in the Bahamas, and sank in the English Channel on December 14.
Initially, salvage crews expressed optimism, because low tide allowed the Tricolor to rest on the channel bottom. The boat failed to refloat on the incoming tide, however, and thick fog impeded official efforts. The cargo of luxury cars, valued at more than $30 million, was considered irrecoverable, due to saltwater damage.
In the following two weeks, while the Tricolor lay submerged off the French port, Dunkirk, in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, it was struck by two other ships.
