Thesyndicates reinsured Manila based Oriental Assurance on a contract that warrantedSulpicio Lines' fleet would not leave port or sail through affected waters whena typhoon warning was in force.

Thereinsurance covered cargo carried on 22 Sulpicio vessels including the23,800-gt Princess of the Stars (built 1984) which capsized with the loss ofmore than 800 lives during Typhoon Frank in mid 2008.

Theoriginal Oriental Assurance policy carried a similar warranty requiring thatvessels should not sail from a sheltered port or undertake a voyage that at anypoint put them in the path of a warned typhoon.

Butthis