2025 Maritime Digest of Arbitration Awards and Court Rulings
VOYAGE CHARTER PARTY -- LAYDAY -- CARGO -- CHARTER PARTY -- DEMURRAGE -- DEADFREIGHT -- DETENTION -- WRONGFUL CANCELLATION -- Owner Award
The Vessel arrived at loadport and tendered NOR within laycan, however the Charterer failed to supply the cargo. The Charterer, after fourteen days of expressing to the Owner that loading would begin soon, cancelled the Charter Party because of "unexpected problems." The Owner subsequently demanded compensation for damages to demurrage, deadfreight, and detention.
EXXONMOBIL VOY2000 -- PURGE -- VOYAGE ORDERS -- LOAD PORT -- CONTRACT OF AFFREIGHTMENT -- CARGO HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS -- Charterer Award
This arbitration stems from the Contract of Affreightment on ExxonMobil Voy2000 and the responsibility of nitrogen purging. In this case, when the Vessel reached the load port, the Charterers refused Vessel loading because the tanks were not purged to the cargo’s required .5% O2 level. The Owners, however, brought evidence proving that the specific purging requirements were not included in the COA or the voyage orders.
NYPE -- ARBITRATION -- VOYAGE -- DRAFT -- TANKER -- DISPORT -- TIME CHARTER – CHARTERER ORDERING VESSEL TO LOAD TO ARRIVAL DRAFT OF 11 METRES – OWNER REFUSING BASIS OFFICIAL DRAFT RESTRICTION AT DISPORT OF 10.5 METRES -- Owner Award
This arbitration centers on the Owner’s refusal to load His/Her vessels on four voyages during March/May to a full arrival draft of eleven meters. Instead, He/She used a safer draft of 10.5 meters in accordance with Navtex costal warnings during these months. The Charterers, however, brought arbitration against the Owner with evidence that the discharge port authority was berthing vessels up to the desired eleven meters draft.
GENCON -- LOADPORT -- BERTH -- SHIFTING -- DETENTION -- DEMURRAGE -- WHETHER CHARTERER LIABLE FOR DETENTION OR BREACH OF CHARTER FOR FAILURE TO BERTH VESSEL – WHETHER CHARTERER AT FAULT FOR BERTHING VESSEL OUT OF TURN – VALIDITY OF NOR -- Owner Award
Although the Vessel had arrived and tendered NOR at loadport, another vessel was berthed out of turn. Subsequently, the Owner claimed detention at the demurrage rate for the four days of delay that the Charterer incurred by berthing the second vessel out of turn.
VEGOILVOY -- ARBITRATION -- CHARTER -- LOADPORT -- CHARTER PARTY -- CARGO -- VOYAGE -- DEADFREIGHT -- PAYMENT AND CALCULATION OF DEADFREIGHT -- Owner Award
The Owners brought arbitration against three separate Charterers in order to collect lost profits from an improper cancellation. Six days before arriving at loadport, the Owner received a message asking Him/Her to cancel the Charter Party because the cargo was unavailable. However, because voyage was underway and there was no locatable substitute cargo, the Vessel arrived, tendered NOR, and sailed with deadfreight.
ASBATANKVOY -- LOADPORT -- BERTH -- DETENTION -- DEMURRAGE -- INDEMNITY -- CONSOLIDATION OF POTENTIAL CLAIMS INVOLVING MULTIPLE PARTIES -- Partial Charterer Award
A collapsed breasting fender at loadport caused an eleven day berthing delay for the Vessel, subsequently allowing the Owner to file for a demurrage claim. The Charterers counterclaimed that the fender collapse was caused by the Vessel and demanded indemnity for demurrage on four other vessels and indemnity for a potential damages claim from the dock owner.
ASBATANKVOY -- CARGO -- PORT -- LAYTIME -- ARBITRATION -- DEMURRAGE -- NOR VALIDITY -- Owner Award
After arriving at port and once approved for loading, the Vessel tendered NOR, but waited fourteen days before berthing. However, before load operations could commence, onboard hydraulic problems delayed cargo loading further and gave the Charterers fodder to claim that the NOR tender was premature. The Charterers argued that if the Vessel was not ready to load in all respects, then laytime cannot commence.
ASBATANKVOY -- VESSEL -- ARBITRATION -- CHARTER PARTY -- LOADPORT -- CANCELLATION DUE LATE ARRIVAL – MARKET LOSS -- Owner Award
After engine problems delayed the original Vessel from arriving at loadport, the Charterers cancelled the Charter Party with the Owners and chartered another vessel to take its place. At arbitration, the Charterers held the Owners in full responsibility for failing to provide a timely vessel and demanded compensation for resulting market loss.
Loading prior to the commencement of laydays can have many positive outcomes, not least of which is the expedited turn around of the voyage. However, this being said, there are pitfalls for which both Owners and Charterers should be aware of. Discussed below are two of them.
ASBATANKVOY -- LAYCAN -- LAYTIME -- NOR -- APPEAL -- LOADING PRIOR TO LAYCAN -- Charterer Award
Upon acknowledging that the Vessel would arrive before laycan, the Charterer sent several messages to the Vessel requesting that she tender NOR upon arrival with the intent of commencing loading prior to laycan; which she did. The Owner argued that this signified the commencement of laytime due to Charterer-given consent; however, the Charterer contends that they merely requested an early NOR.
