Parsons Corporation and others v C V Scheepvaartonderneming ‘The Happy Ranger’: CA 17 May 2002

There was a contact for the carriage by sea of three reactors. The contract applied the Hage-Visby rules.
Held: The contract applied the rules as they would apply in the country of shipment if they were applied mandatorily. The contact should be read so as to reflect the clearly expressed intention of the parties. The bill of lading is the bedrock on which the mandatory code is founded. Did it contain the terms required. This was a contract for carriage, and not a charterparty. The rules did therefore apply obligatorily, the limitation of liability applied, and the appeal succeeded.

Lord Justice Aldous Lord Justice Tuckey And Lord Justice Rix
[2002] EWCA Civ 694, [2002] 2 Lloyds Rep 357, [2002] 2 All ER (Comm) 24, [2003] 1 CLC 122
Bailii
Carriage of Goods By Sea Act 1971
England and Wales
Citing:
CitedAdamastos Shipping v Anglo Saxon Petroleum HL 1959
Where the terms of a statute are incorporated into a contract by reference, the contract has to be read as if the words of the statute are written out in the contract and construed, as a matter of contract, in that contractual context. The Hague . .
CitedPyrene v Scindia Navigation Co QBD 1954
Under a classic FOB contract, a seller places the goods on board the ship, and procures a bill of lading in terms usual in the trade. The buyer nominates the shipper and bears all the expenses associated with the vessel including port charges, . .
DistinguishedPresident of India v Metcalfe Shipping Co (The ‘Dunelmia’) CA 1970
Voyage charterers and owners disputed whether a claim for short delivery was subject to the jurisdiction clause in the charter party or in the bills of lading.
Held: As the charter party authorised the master to sign the bill of lading . .
DistinguishedThe Chitral 2000
The PNSC bill of lading named the consignee of goods carried on the defendant’s vessel. Goods were damaged during the voyage. The bill of lading was otherwise in conventional form, but the box in which the consignee was to be named said ‘If order . .

Cited by:
CitedDaewoo Heavy Industries Ltd and Another v Klipriver Shipping Ltd and Another CA 3-Apr-2003
The carrier had loaded the cargo on the ship’s deck, despite a clause requiring it to be stowed in a hold. The charterparty sought to use the breach to remove the carrier’s limit of liability. The older form of Hague rules applied.
Held: It . .
CitedJ I MacWilliam Co Inc v Mediterranean Shipping Company S A, ‘The Rafaela S’ CA 16-Apr-2003
Machinery was damaged whilst in transit, on the second of two legs. The contract described itself as a through bill of lading, but the port of discharge was not the final destination.
Held: The contract was a straight bill of lading. A . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Transport, Damages

Updated: 20 December 2021; Ref: scu.171284