2025 Maritime Digest of Arbitration Awards and Court Rulings
ASBATANKVOY -- LOADPORT -- LOAD OPERATIONS -- DEMURRAGE -- ARBITRATIONT -- CARGO CONTAMINATION -- LIABILITY FOR DEMURRAGE, FREIGHT, DEADFREIGHT AND DAMAGES -- Owner Award
The Vessel arrived at loadport, passed surveyor inspection, and began loading cargo. However, when the surveyor inspected the cargo after partial loading, He/She rejected the loaded cargo because of floating particles in the sample. After the voyage, the Owner claimed that the surveyor passed the Vessel before loading and filed demurrage for the tank cleaning delays.
ARBITRATION -- VOYAGE -- DEMURRAGE -- SPEED WARRANTY -- SEAWORTHINESS -- SPEED WARRANTY – LOSS OF ANCHOR CHAINS -- UNSEAWORTHINESS OR UNSAFE PORT/BERTH - VALIDITY OF NOR -- Owner Award
The arbitration following the Vessel’s voyage encompassed several key demurrage arguments. Disputes center around the Vessel speed warranty and the application of the word "about", the fault for broken anchor chains (Charterer port unsafety or Owner Vessel unseaworthiness), and the validity of subsequent NOR tender if the anchors were broken.
With hurricanes Katrina and Rita recently hitting the U.S. Gulf, Charterers and Owners have found their vessels incurring lengthy waits. Since Asbatankvoy remains the most popular bulk liquids boilerplate and it incorporates the term storm in its Clause 8 half-time provision, the below defines the term storm under both English and U.S. law.
BALTIMORE GRAIN CP -- DISPORT -- BERTH -- ARBITRATION -- LAYTIME -- PORT -- Partial Owner Award
Although blocked by disport by seventeen miles of ice, the Vessel tendered NOR and awaited icebreaker assistance for five days before continuing to berth. At arbitration, the Owners view the NOR as a valid beginning of laytime and any further delays at port were the fault of the Charterers. The Charterers counterclaimed that an NOR tendered seventeen miles from port limits cannot be considered valid.
ASBATANKVOY -- DEMURRAGE -- ARBITRATION -- TIME-BAR -- BARGE -- DISPORT -- CLAIM -- Owner Award
In this case, there were four separate demurrage issues under dispute. Arbitration disputes focused on the time-bar clause, the allocation of time spent overloading the Vessel and subsequent reloading, delays waiting for the Charterer’s barge at disport, and the Owner’s right to increase a claim.
ASBATANKVOY -- DISCHARGE -- PORT -- DRAFT -- DEMURRAGE -- ARBITRATION -- Charterer Award
The Vessel was required to discharge at two separate ports, however, the draft was erroneously calculated to only accommodate the deeper port. And upon arrival at the deeper port, the berth was occupied by another vessel thereby detaining the Owner’s Vessel. So in response to Owner’s subsequent demurrage, the Charterers blame the erroneous draft level for the delay because otherwise the Vessel could discharge at the shallower (but unoccupied) port first.
ASBATANKVOY -- ARRIVAL DRAFT -- DISPORT -- DEMURRAGE -- DRAFT -- CHARTER PARTY -- LAYTIME -- ARBITRATION -- Charterer Award
Although the Charterers assured that an arrival draft of forty feet was acceptable, tidal changes delayed the Vessel’s arrival to disport. The Owners submitted a claim for demurrage arguing that the Charterers draft levels kept the Vessel from reaching disport. But the Charterers reference a clause in the Charter Party which states that tidal delays cannot count as laytime in arbitration.
ASBATANKVOY -- CARGO -- BARGE -- BERTH -- PORT -- DEMURRAGE -- ACT OF GOD -- Owner Award
After part cargo discharge to barge, bad weather delayed the Vessel’s berth at port thereby incurring an Owner demurrage claim. The Charterer agreed to the fine, however, requested that this claim be offset by consolidating it with other outstanding claims that the Owner owes to the Charterer (making net demurrage due Charterer).
SHELLTIME 4 -- CARGO -- CONTAMINATION -- DEADFREIGHT -- POSSESSORY LIEN -- DISPORT -- TIME-CHARTER -- OFF-HIRE -- Owner Award
In response to a Charterer agreement to use the unclean Vessel for transporting sub-Charterer's naphtha cargo, the sub-Charterer refused to load the Vessel to full capacity in fear of cargo contamination. The Charterer subsequently claimed deadfreight and incurred a possessory lien for over a month at disport. Under the time-charter contract, the Owner seeks hire payment for the month-long arrest which the Charterer deducted as off-hire.
BPVOY 4 -- CHARTER PARTY -- CARGO -- LAYTIME -- TIME-BAR -- Owner Award
After the Vessel had arrived, tendered NOR, and waited for berthing instructions until after the 84H laytime allowance expired, the Charterer cancelled the Charter Party due to being unable to supply cargo. The Owner responded with a damages claim eleven months later; however, there is a stipulation in the charter that states that any claim after 180 days is time-barred.
