Stena pays for delay
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• Steno Sealink is to arrange individual compensation claims with the 73 hauliers stranded on the Steno Challenger last week.
They were delayed along with 245 passengers and crew for nearly 24 hours after the cross-Channel ferry ran aground on a sandbank off Calais. Steno stresses that it does not want to lose business because of the incident, and in a bid to minimise the effect on the company's image it will sort out the compensation issue as quickly as possible. "All claims will be dealt with on an individual basis, and everybody will be fully compensated for any inconvenience", it says. All freight drivers were interviewed before they left the ferry to begin this process. Steno refunded the cost of the journey and offered free accommodation for the night, but most drivers continued with their journeys. Steno has put up a general bond to cover the cost of salvage and enable all vehicles to depart the ship without being held up by insurance assessors. In theory this means all those on board have to share in the cost of salvage, but Steno soy its insurers will pick up the bill and no charge will be put on any operator.