BIMCO SupplyTime 2017 Charterparty for Offshore Support Vessels – clause 12 (e) -failure to dispute invoices precludes later recovery for off-hire events The facts Clause 12(e) required charterers to notify owners of disputed amounts in invoices presented and to pay undisputed amounts . Clause 12(g) provided for an audit of the owners’ books of account […]
FOB sale – payment obligation on buyers to pay into account nominated by sellers – buyers’ email account hacked resulting in payment to incorrect account – buyers liable for loss suffered by sellers The facts 5000 metric tonnes of Romanian sunflower meal was sold FOB Galati, Romania. Payment was to be in cash within 2 […]
Capture by pirates connected to Gulf of Aden crossing an off-hire event – construction of special clauses The facts The vessel was time chartered back to back with a time charter trip on top. The vessel was ordered to load iron-ore for carriage from the Ukraine to Xiamen, China. The vessel transited Suez and the […]
Clause 9A BARECON ’89 – obligation to maintain vessel in class an innominate term and not a condition The facts The vessel was classed by Bureau Veritas. On 17 October 2012 the vessel was let for 15 years . Her class certificates expired on 6 November 2017. On 7 December 2017 owners terminated for breach […]
Clause 21 GAFTA 100 – prohibition affecting loadport chosen by sellers – no proof that they could not have, by reasonable endeavours, obtained goods from another port within the agreed range The facts Warinco sold 1000 tonnes soya bean meal to Fritz, CIF Weser ex Mediterranean port. Warinco had bought 2000 tonnes of meal shipped […]
Laytime and demurrage – oil tanker arriving after cancelling date and rejected twice for dirty tanks – charterers electing not to cancel, missing turn in regulated allocation of gasoil – delay for the account of the chrs The facts Asbatankvoy form with amendments. Loadport Sikka, India. Cargo, gasoil. By the time the vessel had arrived […]
Force Majeure clause – contract of affreightment – charterers not able to perform for reasons other than the force majeure event not entitled to rely on clause – substantial damages awarded on appeal to the Court of Appeal The facts A long term contract of affreightment was entered into between Classic Maritime, ship owners, and […]
Arbitration – long delay by claimant in prosecuting claim – application by defendant for injunction refused The facts In August 1964, Bremer Vulkan agreed to build 5 bulk carriers for South India Shipping. The contract was governed by German law and contained a London arbitration clause. There was a 12 month guarantee. The last of […]
Holder of a bill of lading becoming party to the contract of carriage by virtue of s2 of COGSA 1992 bound by arbitration clause despite not having incurred liability by triggering events mentioned in s3 The voyage Seven thousand mt soyabean meal was shipped from San Lorenzo, Argentina, to Agadir and Casablanca (originally) and (eventually) […]
Per Lord Pearce: “… Credibility involves wider problems than mere “demeanour” which is mostly concerned with whether the witness appears to be telling the truth as he now believes it to be. Credibility covers the following problems. First, is the witness a truthful or untruthful person? Secondly, is he, though a truthful person, telling something […]
per Leggatt J: Evidence based on recollection An obvious difficulty which affects allegations and oral evidence based on recollection of events which occurred several years ago is the unreliability of human memory. While everyone knows that memory is fallible, I do not believe that the legal system has sufficiently absorbed the lessons of a century […]
Time bar – back to back VCP’s – notice of claim for cargo damage served on cusp of expiry date – too late for voyage charterers to pass down in time – court willing to grant extension in terms of section 12 of the Arbitration Act 1996 provided parties acted with commercial expedition ie immediately […]
Binding effect of non-variation except in writing clause endorsed by the UKSC The facts Rock Advertising Ltd entered into a contractual licence with MWB to occupy office space at Marble Arch Tower in Bryanston Street, London W1, for a fixed term of 12 months. The licence fee was £3,500 per month for the first three […]
Cargo damage – interpretation of NYPE ICA The Facts Agile Holdings Corporation let the vessel to Essar Shipping Ltd on a time charter for a single trip from Tunisia to India via Trinidad. The cargo was a consignment of direct reduced iron and the charter was on the NYPE 46 form. DRI is highly reactive […]
Straight bill of lading held to qualify as a bill of lading for the purposes of the Hague Visby Rules The facts Four containers of printing machinery were damaged in the course of their carriage by sea from Felixstowe to Boston, USA. No document was issued to record the contract for the carriage of the […]
Protective writ issued before sale of vessel upheld
The facts
Two German single-ship owning companies arrested this vessel as an associated ship in respect of charter claims against Hanjin.
As in the Mare Traveller, change of ownership took place before arrest but after issue of the protective writ.
Interested parties applied for the setting aside of the arrest on the same arguments presented to Burger AJ in the Cape High Court. (more…)
Proceedings in rem – properly brought by issue of writ and not affected by subsequent change of ownership of the vessel
The facts
In November 1966, the plaintiffs, cargo owners, issued a writ in rem against ship owners, Smith Rederi Aktiebolaget, the Monica Smith, claiming damages for breach of contract .
In January 1967, the ship owners sold the ship to the defendants, Rederi Aktiebolaget Tankoil, who renamed her the Monica S.
On 9 February 1967, the writ was amended to reflect the changed details.
Tankoil applied for an order setting aside the amended writ or service of it. (more…)
Protective writ set aside on basis that vessel no longer owned by entity liable
The facts
Creditors of Hanjin Shipping issued protective writs out of various South African courts against more than 70 Hanjin beneficially owned ships to facilitate their arrest in rem, as associated ships, when they called at local ports.
Tebtale, owners of Mount Meru, one of the vessels affected, applied to have her removed from the list.
Tebtale had purchased the Mount Meru after the issue of the writs and were not liable in personam to the particular creditor in question.
The Mount Meru found its way onto the list as a ship associated with the Mare Traveller, the vessel against which the creditor had a claim in personam. (more…)
Security arrest – seminal case on requirements
The facts
The Thalassini Avgi loaded general cargo in various ports in the Far East, for carriage to various ports in the Middle East, including Aden, in the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen.
The owner was Astromando Compania Naviera SA.
Astromando time chartered the vessel to Nippon Yusen Kaisha.
NYK issued bills of lading in respect of the various consignments of goods taken on board the ship including goods destined for consignees in South Yemen.
At Aden, a fire broke out on board the vessel damaging much of the cargo and the vessel.
The Yemeni consignees, being the holders of the bills of lading, arrested the Dimitris in Port Elizabeth as an associated vessel.
It was common cause that the Dimitris was an associated vessel.
The West England Shipowners Mutual Protection and Indemnity Association (Luxembourg) issued a letter of undertaking to obtain the release of the vessel confined to judgments in Japan and South Africa. (more…)
“always accessible” applies to entry and departure The facts The charter of the vessel was for carriage from the US Gulf to the Republic of Congo and Angola. The charter party, on an amended GENCON 1994 form, provided: “10. Loading port or place (Cl.1) 1 good safe berth always afloat always accessible 1-2 good safe […]