2025 Maritime Digest of Arbitration Awards and Court Rulings
ASBATANKVOY -- ARBITRATION -- DEMURRAGE -- PUMP WARRANTY -- CANAL -- Charterer Award
This arbitration dispute hinges on an Owner’s claim for pumping demurrage and detention from canal blockage by another vessel. In their defense, the Charterers claim that the Owner violated the contracted pump warranty and have no grounds for demurrage while also stating that the Owner should have been aware of possible delays in the Chelsea Street Bridge Safety Zone.
ASBATANKVOY -- CARGO -- ROB -- TANK -- ARBITRATION -- WITHHELD FREIGHT -- BURDEN OF PROOF -- Charterer Award
After discharging, there was over 5000 bbls of unpumpable cargo remaining in Vessel tanks. The Owners began arbitration for withheld freight costs on the grounds that the Charterers told the Vessel to keep cargo as cool as possible, which inadvertently rendered it unpumpable. The Owners further claim that the burden to prove that the ROB was liquid and pumpable falls on the Charterers.
ASBATANKVOY -- DEADFREIGHT -- DEMURRAGE -- ARBITRATION -- SHORTLOAD -- Owner Award
Upon completing load operations, the Owners discovered that the Charterers shortloaded the Vessel by about 462 mt. The Owners subsequently began arbitration to recover the deadfreight damages and additional demurrage.
ASBATANKVOY -- ARBITRATION -- DEMURRAGE -- LAYCAN -- PUMP WARRANTY -- DISPORT -- PUMP LOGS -- MANIFOLD -- Owner Award
This arbitration began as a result of the Charterer’s refusal to pay demurrage for an extended laycan at discharge. The Charterer claims that the Vessel violated the pump warranty, and therefore, excess time at disport is for the Owner’s account. The Owners counterclaim that the pumping logs are consistent with the warranty and that the dock’s inferior manifold connections were the cause of delay.
ASBATANKVOY -- DEMURRAGE -- PART CARGO -- VOYAGE -- ARBITRATION -- Owner Award
After a timely demurrage claim was made for a part cargo voyage, the Charterer did not respond to any Owner request for payment. After three years of non-compliance, the Owner reevaluated the claim to include interest and began arbitration.
ASBATANKVOY -- VOYAGE -- BERTH -- DISPORT -- LOADPORT -- CARGO -- TRANSSHIP -- Owner Award
Because the previous voyage’s berth to disport was clogged by a state-owned vessel, the Vessel had an estimated loadport ETA outside of the demands of the Charterers’ cargo interest. So, a new agreement was made where the Vessel would temporarily abandon her current voyage, load the Charterers’ cargo, and transship the previous cargo later. The Vessel sailed to loadport, however was notified by her previous Charterer that transshipment would not be allowed, which forced the Charterers to renegotiate their sales contracts.
ASBATANKVOY -- CARGO -- FREIGHT -- PREMIUM -- HIGH POUR -- ROB -- ARBITRATION -- COW -- Charterer Award
The Charterers paid an additional freight premium to keep their "high pour" cargo heated to 110°F. However, 6,000 bbls remained on board due to heating coils being out of place and insufficient crude oil washing. The Charterers began arbitration to recover the Owner-faulted cargo loss.
ASBATANKVOY -- DISPORT -- PUMP WARRANTY -- TERMINAL -- SHORELINES -- GENERATOR -- Owner Award
While at sea, the Vessel suffered a breakdown that left her with only one operating generator. And once at disport, the Charterer complained of pumping delays and argued that such delays were faulted by the lack of generator power. The Owners, on the other hand, claimed that the lack of terminal shorelines for discharge caused the delays.
ASBATANKVOY -- ARBITRATION -- DEMURRAGE -- SHIFTING -- BUNKERS -- SLOW STEAMING -- Owner Award
This arbitration resulted from the Charterer’s failure to pay an outstanding demurrage claim and an invoice for shifting expenses, and failed to reimburse the Owner for under-consumed bunkers from slow steaming.
ASBATANKVOY -- LOADPORT -- VOYAGE -- CARGO -- CHARTER PARTY -- DEMURRAGE -- DEVIATION -- Owner Award
Once at loadport, the surveyor inspected the Vessel’s tanks and rejected them per latex residue from the previous voyage’s cargo. But even after cleaning and re-tendering NOR, latex residue was still found in surveyor samples. So, the Owners ordered the Vessel to fulfill other charters, and later submitted a claim for demurrage and subsequent deviation costs.
