In Sea Master Shipping Inc v Arab Bank (Switzerland) Ltd & Yousef Freiha & Sons SA [2020] EWHC 2030, Owners, in a situation where Charterers were in insolvent liquidation and unable to meet their obligations under a voyage charter, sought to hold receivers liable for delay at the discharge port under the bill of lading. … Continue Reading
The Pacific Voyager [2017] EWHC 2579 is a Commercial Court decision about which a number of articles have been written over the last week. It considers the often neglected approach voyage; identifying the moment when the duty to proceed with utmost despatch to the loadport arises under a voyage charter; and whether that obligation is … Continue Reading
ST Shipping & Transport Inc v Kriti Filoxenia Shipping Co SA [2015] EWHC 997 (Comm) Charter terms The charter, on BPVOY3 form, provided that subject to the provisions of clause 24, the vessel would proceed to “1/2 safe port(s) Black Sea excl Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey”. Clause 17 provided for a laycan period of 1 to … Continue Reading
Trafigura Beheer BV v Navigazione Montanari SpA [2015] EWCA Civ 91 The subject vessel was chartered to carry a cargo of oil from Abidjan, Ivory Coast to Lagos, Nigeria. Clause 46 of the charter (on an amended BPVOY3 form) incorporated the Hague-Visby Rules, which contain exemptions in respect of loss or damage arising or resulting … Continue Reading
Kassiopi Maritime Co Ltd v Fal Shipping Co Ltd [2015] EWHC 318 (Comm) Owners and Charterers had entered into a voyage charter on the BPVOY4 form. The charter contained the following provisions: Clause 19.7.1: demurrage claims to be accompanied by the vessel’s pumping log signed by a senior officer of the vessel and a terminal … Continue Reading
London Arbitration 3/15 A vessel was chartered for one voyage from “1-2 load berth chop always afloat Santander” to a port in the UK. Charterers ordered the vessel to load bulk bauxite at a berth adjacent to one where cars were waiting to be loaded. Although all reasonable preventative measures were taken, the loading of … Continue Reading
Ebola continues to spread in West Africa with the latest reports indicating that over 2,630 people have died since the outbreak began. Yesterday, Malta turned away a vessel travelling from Guinea to Ukraine over fears that a crew member may have been infected with Ebola. Fears were also raised in New Orleans in connection with … Continue Reading
More than 1000 people have died in West Africa following the current outbreak of Ebola which began in March 2014. Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia are the worst affected countries but deaths have now also been reported in Nigeria, a major port for oil export. Tradewinds has reported that two bulker bookings for Guinea have … Continue Reading
Also written by Alexander Sandiforth. London Arbitration 10/14 The vessel was the subject of a voyage charter containing the following at clause 11: “Any dispute arising from and in respect of this Charter Party shall be referred to and settled by arbitration in London … Any claims must be made in writing within 3 (three) … Continue Reading
London Arbitration 11/14 The vessel was the subject of a voyage charter, under which the vessel was not accepted for loading. Owners argued that the rejection amounted to a repudiatory breach by Charterers and claimed damages for that breach plus damages for detention. Charterers argued that it was Owners who were in repudiatory breach, because … Continue Reading
London Arbitration 4/14. Facts The subject vessel tendered NOR around 75 miles from the loadport of Matadi. At the time she was stated to be “in Matadi Roads”, but was in fact at Banana pilot station rather than Matadi Port Anchorage. She then proceeded to the port of Boma, where she awaited a change of … Continue Reading
The overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi by the Egyptian military has resulted in violent scenes, civil unrest and hundreds of deaths across Egypt. Many in the maritime world are watching closely to see what effect, if any, the events in Egypt will have on the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal is, of course, one of … Continue Reading
The appeal in BP Oil International Ltd v Target Shipping Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 196 concerned the amount of overage freight payable by Charterers to Owners. The vessel was chartered on an amended BYVOY4 form, for a cargo of minimum 80,000mt fuel oil. The charterparty stated that freight was payable at Worldscale 135 rate if … Continue Reading
In Falkonera Shipping Co v Arcadia Energy Pte Ltd (The “Falkonera”), the Court considered issues arising from the Claimant Owners’ withholding of approval to discharge from the chartered VLCC to two other VLCCs by STS transfer. Charter Terms Owners chartered the “FALKONERA”, a VLCC, to the Defendant Charterers on an amended BPVOY4 form. Clause 8.1 … Continue Reading
In London Arbitration 5/12, the Tribunal considered the relationship between the requirement that a berth must be “always accessible” and the “weather working day” provision in the laytime clause in the context of determining whether Owners were entitled to damages independent of the laytime regime. The vessel was chartered on an amended Syconamex form. The … Continue Reading
In London Arbitration 6/12 ((2012) 858 LMLN 4), the Tribunal considered whether an additional clause giving Charterers the option to discharge at a second part (in which event time was to count from arrival at the pilot station to dropping outward pilot) operated independently of the charterparty laytime code. The vessel was chartered on an … Continue Reading
The Court of Appeal’s judgment in Transpetrol Maritime Services Limited v SJB (Marine Energy) BV (the “Rowan”) [2012] EWCA Civ 198 is interesting in two respects: 1. It considered the meaning of clause 18 of the Vitol terms, which provides under the heading “Oil Company Approvals Clauses” that “Owner warrants that the Vessel is approved … Continue Reading
In TTMI Sarl v Statoil ASA [2011] EWHC 1150 (Comm), the Court was required to consider whether the Defendant Voyage Charterers had contracted with the Claimant Disponent Owners, or with the Claimant’s parent company. In the fixture recap which fixed the terms of the charterparty, the shipbrokers had mistakenly named the Claimant’s parent company, rather … Continue Reading
This is the question with which we were recently faced in the context of a Shellvoy 6 Form Charterparty providing that “time shall not count … when … b) spent in carrying out vessel operations, including but not limited to bunkering, discharging slops and tank washings, and handling ballast, except to the extent that cargo … Continue Reading
