AOT Ltd. v. Caribbean Petroleum Corp. (The “Cape Bruny”) – SMA No. 4083, 20 Jul 2010

SALES CONTRACT -- FORCE MAJEURE -- TERMINAL EXPLOSION AND FIRE -- NEGLIGENCE -- Seller Award In the earlier Partial Final Award, SMA No. 4073, the Panel determined Buyer was responsible for cargo in shoretanks destroyed by an explosion whilst Vessel was discharging. The Panel held off in determining whether Buyer’s force majeure defense applied to the cargo remaining onboard the Vessel until after the cause of the explosion was determined. In this Final Award, SMA No. 4083, the Panel concluded that the cause of the explosion was due to human negligence and, as such, is not within the scope of force majeure. Buyer is responsible for the extra expense in disposing of remaining product.