2025 Maritime Digest of Arbitration Awards and Court Rulings
CONTRACT OF AFFREIGHTMENT -- BERTH -- DISPORT -- DREDGE PIPE -- CHANNEL -- GROUNDING -- ARBITRATION -- UNSAFE BERTH -- Charterer Award
While moving to berth at disport, the Vessel ran aground on an abandoned dredge pipe in the navigation channel. The Owner followed suit with an arbitration charge for the damages sustained in the grounding, claiming that the Charterer had breached the safe berth warranty. The Charterer counterclaimed that the Owner faulted the grounding citing the Owner’s frequent usage of the port in the past as well as the lack of prior Owner proof that the berth was unsafe.
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.
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.
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).
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 -- 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 -- 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.
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.
SHELLVOY 6, recently introduced and put into use by Shell effective April 2005, provides an update to SHELLVOY 5 in many different ways. As a quick background, SHELLVOY 5 was created in 1987 and last updated in 1999 through the use of Shell’s additional clauses. SHELLVOY 6 incorporates all of the 1999 standard amendments and further attempts to clarify SHELLVOY 5 in other aspects of a voyage charter. The below will provide a quick summary of the demurrage changes between SHELLVOY 5 and SHELLVOY 6. Although a dry (no pun intended) subject, operations personnel, contract administrators and last but not least, demurrage analysts should find this overview germane.
ARBITRATION -- CARGO -- CONTAMINATION -- BURDEN OF PROOF -- CONTAMINANTS -- BERTH -- DEMURRAGE -- DELAY -- Owner Award
This arbitration dispute centers around the fault of cargo contamination and the proper evidence to support the blame. After contaminants were found in the tank samples, the Vessel was forced off berth and the Owner filed demurrage for the cleaning time. The Charterer counterclaimed that the contamination came from the Vessel’s tank, so therefore, any delays came from Owner unreadiness.
