Category: U.S. Maritime Cases

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.

DEMURRAGE – NAEGA 2 CONTRACT – UNPAID BALANCES ON PREVIOUS VESSELS – REVOKING NOR – REFUSAL OF PAYMENT – MULTIPLE VESSELS ON CREDIT

Soreidom sought to recover $776,202.94 in demurrage for the vessels M/V GANT FLAIR and M/V CENTURY EMERALD chartered under NAEGA 2 contracts with Hansen-Mueller Co. HM disputed its liability for the GANT FLAIR charges and claimed reduced liability for the CENTURY EMERALD charges.

DEMURRAGE – LIEN AGAINST CARGO – EXTENSIVE DELAY – FAILURE TO PROVIDE SAFE BERTH / SAFE PORT – DIVERTED TO ALTERNATE PORT – DAMAGES

When the SEA CARRIER faced extensive delays at Clarence Town port awaiting safe berth / safe anchor, Oslo Caribbean was forced to invoke a lien on Bethell’s cargo and divert the vessel to another port. Bethell’s Trucking filed a counterclaim for damages, contending contract breach and wrongful termination.

PARTIAL PAYMENT – DAMAGES FOR DENTENTION – DEMURRAGE – FAILURE TO APPOINT ARBITRATOR – ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF DEBT – FAILURE TO MAKE PAYMENT

This arbitration involved a charterparty for the transport of bulk aggregate sand from Kingston, Jamaica, to Nassau, Bahamas. Oslo Caribbean Carrier AS, the owner of the M/V SEA CARRIER, claimed outstanding demurrage payment and interest from Knowles Construction & Development Co. Ltd., the charterer.

VOYAGE SPEED – WEATHER – DEMURRAGE CLAIM – OWNERS GUARANTEE – SLOW STEAMING – ASBATANKVOY

A voyage charter was made for the transport of clean petroleum product (CPP) from Cherry Point, Washington, to a Chilean port of the Charterer’s choice. Owners initiated arbitration seeking a partial final award of outstanding demurrage, plus interest, costs, and attorneys’ fees. Charterer disputed the claim, asserting that the vessel failed to meet the charterparty speed and failed to adhere to voyage orders, resulting in a missed discharge window.

EMVOY 2012 – WITHHELD SAMPLES – SAMPLE CONTAMINATION – JOINT SAMPLE TESTING – ARBITRABILITY – CAUSE OF CONTAMINATION

An Owner and Charterer entered into a Contract of Affreightment (COA) for the transportation of bulk chemical products from Singapore to Australia. Sampling at the discharge revealed water droplets and cloudiness in the cargo. The Charterer withheld samples from the discharge from joint testing that was requested by the Owner to determine the cause of contamination.

EMVOY SPECIAL CLAUSE 15 – EXXONMOBILE VOY2012 – CARGO STORAGE – DAMAGES – AUTHORITY OF BROKER TO REPRESENT BOTH PARTIES – MEETING OF THE MINDS

The dispute between SeaRiver Maritime (Charterer) and Teekay Tankers Chartering (Owner) revolved around the terms of a charter party agreement for the vessel ZENITH SPIRIT. The key point of contention was the interpretation of Special Clause 15 from the contract written on an ExxonMobile VOY2012, with Owner claiming a guaranteed minimum of 90 days of storage, while Charterer contended that storage was at Charterer’s option.