Cutrale ordered to pay R$2.8 million to firms that helped fight 2019 fire at Port of Santos

The São Paulo Court of Justice (TJ-SP) has upheld a ruling ordering Cutrale to pay more than R$2,848,927.96 in compensation to four port companies that mobilized teams, vehicles, and their equipment to help fight a fire that broke out six years ago at its terminal in the Port of Santos.

The fire occurred in November 2019 at the terminal located on the left bank of the port, in Guarujá (SP). At the time, witnesses from other cities in the Baixada Santista region reported seeing the smoke caused by the blaze.

In court, the companies claimed they had dispatched tugboats to assist in containing the fire and that their personnel played an active role in fighting the flames at the terminal. However, when they tried to contact Cutrale to negotiate compensation, no agreement was reached.

The companies filed a lawsuit seeking recognition of their right to reimbursement for expenses and payment for the assistance and salvage services provided.

In the case records, Cutrale argued that the tugboat support had occurred only during the final stage of firefighting, when the emergency and danger had already been brought under control.

In October of last year, Judge Rejane Rodrigues Lage of the 9th Civil Court of Santos ruled in favor of the companies, citing an expert report that highlighted the importance of the tugboats’ role in the fire response.

She ordered the terminal to pay a total of R$2.8 million, to be equally divided among the four companies, with monetary correction and interest applied from the date of the fire.

Cutrale appealed the decision, and the case was reviewed by the 34th Chamber of Private Law of the TJ-SP, which published its ruling on July 23. The appeals judge, Justice Issa Ahmed, upheld the lower court’s decision, recognizing the obligation to compensate the companies for their direct role in the salvage efforts.

“Although the defendant attempts to portray the plaintiffs’ actions as non-essential to extinguishing the fire, a proper contextualization of the incident clearly shows otherwise: had the plaintiffs’ tugboats not acted to cool the shiploader structure and prevent its collapse, the extent and damage of the fire could have been much greater,” Ahmed stated.

The judge confirmed that this assessment was based on expert findings, which considered the efforts of the companies, the fire department, and Cutrale’s emergency brigades.

According to the TJ-SP, the appeal ruling was unanimous among the panel, which included Justices Gomes Varjão and Antonio Nascimento.

G1 was unable to contact Sucocítrico Cutrale Ltda at the time of publication.

Fire department and port pilotage teams were mobilized to fight a blaze at a cargo terminal in the Port of Santos on November 27, 2019. Footage obtained by G1 shows the fire affecting part of the conveyor belt used for cargo transport. The smoke was visible throughout the city.

Source: G1

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