2024 Maritime Digest of Arbitration Awards and Court Rulings
BREACH OF TIME CHARTER – DAMAGES – UNPAID HIRE – FAILURE TO GIVE REDELIVERY NOTICES - FAILURE TO PAY ADVANCE HIRE
Dann Marine Towing sought damages from Amerex Trading Group for breaching a time charter involving the M/V TURQUOISE COAST and Barge DMT 140. Amerex failed to pay the advance hire and other costs, leading to claims totaling $1.9M.
NORGRAIN FORM - CHANGE OF PORTS – CHANGE IN FREIGHT DUE TO CHANGE OF PORTS - DESPATCH TERMS – DO LOCAL PUBLIC HOLIDAYS COUNT FOR LAYTIME PURPOSES
A vessel chartered under an amended Norgrain agreement was to transport dense grains from Paranagua, Brazil, to China. The discharge points were initially Zhoushan and Taixing but were later changed to Tianjin. Disputes arose over outstanding freight charges and despatch claims.
TIME CHARTER – NYPE FORM – BUNKERS UPON REDELIVERY – SPEED AND CONSUMPTION CLAIM – WEATHER ROUTING COMPANY – ALLEGED ADDITIONAL / UNAUTHORIZED PORT CALL
In a time charter dispute based on an amended NYPE 1946 form, Owners claimed a balance of hire for $79,103.27, while Charterers denied responsibility and counterclaimed for $100,000, alleging the vessel had traveled an extra 250 miles and did not meet speed and consumption warranties.
FORCE MAJEURE - “LAWSUIT” DEFINITION – TIME-BARRED CLAIMS – TIME-CLAUSE – AGREEMENTS ON CHARTER – ARBITRATION
In March 2022, a vessel sustained propeller damage on the way to its first load port, leading to the charter party cancellation through force majeure. Charterers did not initiate arbitration proceedings until over a year later in April 2023. The dispute focused on whether arbitration proceedings were time-barred. Charterers contended that the one-year time bar did not apply due to circumstances surrounding the voyage's cancellation.
TIME CHARTER – INTER-CLUB AGREEMENT – DISCHARGE TO THREE RECEIVERS - CARGO SHORTAGE – OVER DISCHARGE – DETAINED BY RECEIVERS – OFF HIRE – REIMBURSEMENT OF CREW BONUS FOR DANGEROUS WATERS
Disputes in a wheat transport time charter from Ukraine to East Africa involved cargo shortage claims, off-hire due to port delays, and crew bonus issues under an amended NYPE 1946 form. Owners sought $2278K in unpaid hire fees, while charterers counterclaimed for $31K.
BUNKERS – MARITIME LIEN – DEMURRAGE DEBT – ARBITRATION CLAUSE – SUB-CHARTER – NYPE FORM – VOYAGE CHARTER – FAILURE TO PAY HIRE – ARREST
The MARIA THEO I was chartered by Sinco from disponent owners, Marchand Navigation Co. on a NYPE form under English law and with the arbitration in London. Sinco then sub-chartered the vessel to Olam under a voyage charter. Olam incurred demurrage charges, which they agreed to pay Sinco, however, Marchand exercised a lien against Olam, stating breach of the charterparty by Sinco for the failure of Sinco to pay hire and for unpaid bunkers.
DAMAGES – BREACH OF SALES CONTRACT – FAILURE TO PAY - PVC – TRICON – LACK OF PARTICIPATION – CONTRACT CANCELLATION
Tricon Dry Chemicals initiated arbitration against Plastico Bahrain over a breached contract for 300 metric tons of PVC. The proceedings, based solely on Tricon's submissions, sought $156,000 in damages for Plastico's unilateral contract cancellation due to non-payment. Plastico did not participate in the arbitration.
ASBATANKVOY - DEMURRAGE - FAILURE TO PAY - FAILURE TO PARTICIPATE IN ARBITRATION
Panamax International Shipping sought $332K from AAT Global for demurrage incurred during a voyage transporting Carbon Black Feedstock from Mississippi River ports to East Coast India. AAT Global failed to respond to payment requests, forcing Panamax to initiate arbitration.
TIME CHARTER – NYPE 93 FORM – FAILURE TO TENDER NOR FOR FIVE DAYS – DELAY TO TENDER NOR - LIABILITY OF OWNERS FOR DEMURRAGE NOT EARNED UNDER SUB-CHARTER - CLAUSE 8 – NEGLIGENCE OF AGENTS – DEMURRAGE
On a voyage chartered under an amended NYPE 93 form, a dispute arose due to the master's delayed submission of the Notice of Readiness (NOR), leading sub-charterers to contest the commencement of demurrage. Owners contended that the delay was neither deliberate nor negligent, attributing any loss to negligence on the part of the Charterers' agents. Charterers argued that the master's failure constituted a breach of contract and negligence.
APPEAL – US SANCTIONS – CONTRACT OF AFFREIGHTMENT – FORCE MAJEURE AFFECTING DELAY IN LOADING AND DISCHARGE – REASONABLE ENDEAVORS – DOLLAR PAYMENTS REQUIRED BY THE CONTRACT – OFFER TO PAY IN EUROS – OVERCOMING SANCTIONS
MUR Shipping sought to overturn a previous decision by the Court of Appeal by focusing on a force majeure clause in their contract with RTI. MUR invoked force majeure due to US sanctions preventing payments in dollars. The appeal examined contractual clarity, contractual rights, and the application of force majeure clauses.
WEATHER ROUTING COMPANY – DELIVERY AND REDELIVERY TIME – WEATHER LOGS – IN-PORT CONSUMPTION – AIS DATA
This arbitration examined disagreements over the delivery of a vessel, its redelivery conditions, in-port fuel consumption, and performance under a charterparty written on a modified NYPE 1946 form. Issues included AIS monitoring, fuel consumption and vessel performance claims.
