bills of lading

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There have been several decisions in 2022 about carrier’s defences to misdelivery claims under bills of lading.

Carriers face misdelivery claims when they deliver cargo without production of original bills of lading, but then someone else claiming to be the ‘lawful holder’ of the bills complains the cargo should have been delivered to them instead. A common scenario is where a bank has financed the import of a cargo, but the finance has not been repaid. The bank then looks to the bills of lading it holds as a form of security. Unfortunately, the bank often finds the financed cargo has already been discharged from the ship (usually under a letter of indemnity) and cannot be traced. The bank finds it has no security for its claim against its defaulting customer, and brings a claim against the carrier for misdelivery under the bills of lading, arguing the carrier should not have discharged the cargo without the production of the original bills of lading. The carrier in turn looks to the letter of indemnity under which it agreed to discharge the cargo without the original bills.…

Continue Reading Misdelivery claims: not an open goal for financing banks

In Yemgas FZCO & Ors v Superior Pescadores SA [2016] EWCA Civ 101, the Court of Appeal considered whether the standard ‘Paramount Clause’ wording in the Congenbill incorporates the Hague Rules 1924 (the “HR”) or the Hague/Visby Rules (the “HVR”).

The ‘Paramount Clause’ set out on the reverse side of the bills of ladings in the present case provided that “The Hague Rules contained in the International Convention for Unification of certain rules relating to Bills of Lading, dated Brussels the 25th August 1924 as enacted in the country of shipment shall apply to this contract…”

The wording, with one immaterial change, was therefore identical to the wording included in the Congenbill.

Machinery and equipment, intended for use in the construction of a liquid natural gas facility in Yemen, was loaded on board the vessel “SUPERIOR PESCADORES” in Belgium. Owners issued six bills of lading in the Conline form for carriage from Antwerp, Belgium to Balhaf, Yemen.…

Continue Reading Congenbill ‘Paramount Clause’ – Hague or Hague / Visby Rules?

In Caresse Navigation Ltd v Office National d’Electricite (The Channel Ranger) [2013] EWHC 3081 (Comm), the court considered whether a reference in a bill of lading to the incorporation of a charterparty “English law and arbitration” clause should be read as referring to a clause in the relevant charterparty which conferred jurisdiction on…