Category: English Maritime Cases
SUGAR CHARTER PARTY 1999 -- INVALID NOTICE OF READINESS -- DEMURRAGE -- ALLEGED SERIOUS IRREGULARITY BY ARBITRATORS -- Owner Award
In ruling for Charterer in an arbitration on documents alone, the Panel noted that as Charterer had not introduced the case of "The Happy Day", the inclusion of which may have further reduced Charterer's demurrage obligation, the Panel need not consider it. Charterer subsequently appealed to the High Court on the basis that the arbitrators, knowing Charterer had made a concession, had a duty to alert Charterer and failing to do so it constituted a serious irregularity.
CONSTRUCTION OF WARRANTY -- OIL COMPANIES APPROVALS CLAUSE -- "TBOOK" DEFINED -- Owner Award
At the time of the fixture, Owner alleged that the Vessel was approved by five oil majors as required by the charter. Thus, when Charterer’s buyer rejected the Vessel due to a sea-chest valve needing repairs as imposed by the Class survey, a sale was lost with Charterer incurring substantial damages. The Commercial Court ruled Owner had breached the Oil Companies Approval Clause. The Court of Appeal overturned the Commercial Court’s ruling and clarified the meaning of the acronym "TBOOK" and the word “approved” in regards to the charter's majors approval requirement.
GENCON -- DEMURRAGE -- TIDE -- EXCESSIVE AIR DRAFT -- TERMINAL BREAKDOWN OR BAD WEATHER -- Partial Owner Award
Whilst loading, operations ceased due to excessive air draft of the Vessel during high tide. Later operations stopped again due to either the breakdown of the terminal’s camera or bad weather. Owner claimed demurrage during both delays which Charterer refuted.
GENCON -- SOF VS METEOROLOGICAL REPORT -- FREIGHT CALCULATION WHEN DISPORT NOT NAMED IN FIXTURE -- Partial Owner Award
At the disport the Vessel’s statement of facts (SOF) referenced possible weather related delays yet when Charterer attempted to deduct said delays from time counting, Owner produced a weather report for a nearby port which reflected fair weather during the time in question. Additionally, there was a dispute over the calculation of freight when the nominated disport, albeit an acceptable port option, was not within any of the port ranges in the fixture’s freight rate schedule.
CIF SALES CONTRACT -- WIBON -- BERTH CONGESTION CONCURRENT WITH TIDE DELAY -- Seller Award
Upon arrival at the discharge port the berth was occupied and inaccessible owing to tide. Per the WIBON phrase in the CIF Sales Contract, Notice of Readiness (NOR) could be tendered prior to arrival in berth should the berth be occupied. The Buyer, however, argued that in this instance NOR must be tendered at the berth since congestion was not the sole cause of delay.
NYPE -- REPUDIATED TIME-CHARTER -- MEASURE OF DAMAGES -- Charterer Award and Seller Award
This court case is an appeal by Charterer of an arbitration award. When the economy went sour, Charterer wrongfully repudiated a time-charter contract. At the time of the repudiation there was no available long-term charter market on which to base Owner’s damages. About six months later an available market developed. The arbitration panel awarded Owner damages using a hybrid assessment: actual losses based on spot trading and then market losses once a long-term charter market emerged (despite Owner opting, for own business reasons, to continue trading on the spot market).
FOB SALES CONTRACT-- LETTER OF INDEMNITY -- WRONGFUL DELIVERY -- SALES CONTRACT -- Owner Award
The Vessel discharged cargo without presentation of Bills of Lading (B/Ls) per the Receiver's Letter of Indemnity (LOI) to the Voyage Charterer. FOB Seller successfully claimed damages from Owner for delivering cargo without presentation of the Bills of Lading with Owner subsequently claiming indemnity from Receiver as Owner had acted as an agent of Charterer as referenced within the LOI.
BPVOY4 -- DEMURRAGE -- TIME-BAR -- DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED TIMELY BUT CLAIM MISLABELED AS DEVIATION -- COST OF BUNKERS FOR CALLING SAME BERTH TWICE -- Partial Owner Award
This award is Owner’s appeal of the Commercial Court’s 22 Nov 10 decision. When Vessel was required by Charterer to attend to the same load berth twice, Owner invoiced the time and bunkers consumed for the second call as a deviation claim. In addition, demurrage was claimed by Owner for excess time used at the discharge port. Charterer agreed to and paid a "final agreed demurrage invoice" which covered demurrage and then claimed that the load port expenses should have been submitted as demurrage. Owner subsequently altered the load port claim such that it was for demurrage with Charterer subsequently denying it twofold; firstly, demurrage had already been settled in full and secondly, the claim for demurrage at the load port was now time-barred.
ASBATANKVOY -- DEMURRAGE -- WORKING OTHER CARGOES -- TANK CLEANING -- Charterer Award
In the appeal to the High Court the judge agreed with the arbitrators that if the vessel was unavailable to the charterers for their cargo operations because she was being used by the owners for their own purposes, the owners were deriving a benefit even if the vessel was still waiting for a berth.
NYPE -- TIME-CHARTER -- SPEED AND CONSUMPTION WARRANTY -- BEAUFORT SCALE -- BAD WEATHER -- EQUITABLE SET-OFF -- OFF-HIRE -- Charterer Award
At the commencement of the time charter the Vessel had problems with the main engine sea water cooling system which Charterer suspected subsequently caused the Vessel to underperform. Owner denied that the Vessel breached the performance warranty and claims for the withheld hire; whereas, Charterer maintains that the Vessel was off-hire or, alternatively, seeks damages for Owner’s breach of the speed warranty as an equitable set-off.
