A DERBYSHIRE man is seeking compensation for life-threatening injuries after part of an iceberg fell on him during a cruise holiday.

David Michael Bishop, of Derby Road, Ambergate, suffered multiple fractures and lung injuries on a ten-day cruise in the Arctic on the MV Alexy Maryshev.

The ship was was near the Norwegian island of Spitzbergen when an iceberg broke from the Hornbreen glacier, creating massive shockwaves and littering the deck with slabs of ice. The liner was carrying 48 passengers, all British, and had stopped near the glacier for passengers to take photos.

London's High Court heard that some of the people who were injured were on the foredeck when the ice and waves struck.

The injured included Dr Philip Lawson, of Loughborough who suffered fractured ribs; the chairman of a law firm in Glasgow, who also broke bones; and a bank manager from Buckinghamshire who fractured his skull.

Now 16 tourists, including Mr Bishop, have launched damages claims against Surrey-based tour operator, Discover the World, which sold them the £2,495 cruise packages. The company denies all liability.

During a preliminary hearing, before Mr Justice Blair, Nigel Cooper QC, for Dr Lawson and others, said several of the passengers had photographs to back up their case that the vessel had been steered dangerously close to the glacier.

He said: "A number of them were actually standing on the foredeck as the glacier calved and there is an issue as to how close the vessel was."

"A number of the claimants have photographs showing the proximity of the vessel just before and just after the incident.

Mr Cooper added that other issues will include "the magnitude of the surge waves" caused by the falling ice, "the nature of the vessel's response" and the "foreseeability" of the incident.

The local safety regime and the code of safe navigation in Arctic waters would also have a part to play in the case, he said.

Mr Justice Blair heard that the claims of most of the passengers, who suffered relatively minor injuries, would amount to less than £50,000 each.

But Nicholas Saunders, for banker Andrew Burnett, said he would be lodging a "substantial" claim for loss of earnings.

The trial on the issue of liability, set to last five to six days, is expected to start at the High Court in March with a pre-trial review in January or February.

Mr Justice Blair also directed that the trial judge should have the assistance of an expert nautical assessor should he require it.