2024 Maritime Digest of Arbitration Awards and Court Rulings
UNLAWFUL MEANS CONSPIRACY -- CONFIDENTIALITY WAIVED -- DISCLOSURE FOR JUSTICE -- Claimant Award
Bdocuments that had been presented in a London arbitration were needed by the Claimant to pursue court proceedings against others for alleged unlawful means conspiracy
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BPVOY 4 -- “REASONABLE” OVERAGE FREIGHT -- INCORRECT FREIGHT CALCULATION -- RECOVERY OF OVERPAYMENT -- Owner Award
Owner and Charterer appealed a judgment that found Charterer was liable for a "reasonable" amount (subject to further inquiry) of freight that was overpaid on the Owner’s purportedly miscalculated invoice. At issue is whether freight overage applies for cargo carried in excess of the minimum volume stipulated when the additional port/region was not named in the Overage Section of the contract.
NYPE -- TIME CHARTER -- BACK-TO-BACK CHARTERS -- 1986 US TAX REFORM ACT -- INEMNITY FOR US FREIGHT TAX -- Charterer Award
Tax payable under U.S. Tax Code for transportation income earned by a nonresident alien or foreign corporation is potentially payable for the hire earned by the head owner as well as the income earned by the disponent owner, subject to any exemptions. In this instance the disponent owner was found to be exempt and, therefore, their request for indemnity from the sub-charterer had to fail.
BIMCO PIRACY CLAUSE -- TIME CHARTER -- NECESSITY OF PIRACY INSURANCE -- REIMBURSEMENT OF INSURANCE PREMIUM -- Charterer Award
When the Vessel was instructed to sail on a voyage which took her through the Gulf of Aden -- an area known to be exposed to piracy risks – the Owner undertook insurance against kidnap, ransom, and loss of hire for which they seek reimbursement for the $31K insurance premium. At issue is whether the insurance was "necessary" as stipulated in the BIMCO Piracy Clause.
BPVOY 3 -- NOR VALIDITY -- DEMURRAGE -- NOTICE OF READINESS BY EMAIL -- Charterer Award
At issue is whether Owner may tender a valid Notice of Readiness (NOR) by email. The governing BPVOY 3 charter party, Clause 19, provides a list of six methods by which a valid NOR may be tendered – email is not one of them.
ASBA II -- GANGWAY FAILURE -- SEAWORTHINESS --BAD WEATHER -- DEMURRAGE -- Partial Owner Award
The gangway collapsed during the boarding of the Charterer’s mooring team causing injury and subsequent delays in berthing. Per Owner, the cause of the collapse was due to a sheared swivel pin from contact by the tug in adverse weather. Conversely, Charterer asserted that the condition of the swivel pin was pre-existing and combined with the weight of the team caused the failure.
GENCON -- CONDITION OF PERFORMANCE -- ADDITIONAL FREIGHT FOR REPLACEMENT VESSELS -- Owner Award
Charterer seeks compensation for the freight differential paid on substitute tonnage when the Owner failed to perform in their obligation to nominate two vessels as required in the charter party. Conversely, Owner counters that due to cargo issues (railcar allocation, export documentation, etc.) and berth operational issues, the Charterer would not have been able to supply the cargo even if the Owner complied with the Vessel nominations.
BILLS OF LADING PHRASING -- APPARENT GOOD ORDER -- CARGO QUALITY -- CONDITION OF GOODS -- RETLA CLAUSE -- COGSA -- CONTRACT CONSTRUCTION -- Consignee Award
The Vessel was chartered to carry a cargo of steel pipes. At the loadport, the cargo was inspected and found to be in poor condition as stated in the Survey report and Mates Receipt, however, the Bills of Lading reflected "apparent good order". Consignee claimed for damages stemming from the misrepresented cargo condition in the Bills of Lading. Owner claimed that they were excused from liability under a protective “Retla clause” incorporated in the B/Ls.
BPVOY 4 -- SHIP-TO-SHIP TRANSFER -- BPVOY4 CLAUSE 8 LANGUAGE --VLCC-TO-VLCC TRANSFER -- OWNER RIGHT OF REFUSAL -- Charterer Award
Charterer instructed the VLCC vessel to discharge to two other VLCC’s (floating storage units) via a ship-to-ship transfer. The Owner withheld their approval of the Vessels and Charterer was forced to lighter to smaller vessels instead. Charterer argued that the Owner had breached the charter by wrongfully withholding their approval.
CFR SALES CONTRACT -- DEMURRAGE -- SHORT-DELIVERY OF GOODS -- LOSS OF EARNINGS -- DAMAGES -- Partial Seller Award
Demurrage resulted when the port authorities forced the Vessel to leave the berth during discharge operations in order to berth a tanker deemed to be a higher priority. The CFR Buyer denied responsibility for the demurrage and excess port charges; and, counterclaimed against the CFR Seller for short-delivery of goods totaling 4 M.T. and unsatisfactory product quality. The Seller also claimed for loss of earnings resulting from the Owner blacklisting them due to the late demurrage payment and their resultant inability to fulfill a subsequent sale contract.
