Atkins International HA v Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (The APJ Priti): CA 1987

The APJ Priti was chartered but on the voyage, was struck by a missile, towed to port, and discharged. The ships owners argued for a breach of warranty, saying that the nominated port was unsafe. The arbitrator had found that there was no warranty from the charterers that the approach to the port was safe.
Held: The owner’s appeal failed. A warranty to nominate a safe port cannot be broken before the duty to nominate has arisen. Moreover the warranty was as to the port only, and not its approach.
Bingham LJ rejected an argument that a warranty, to the effect that the port declared was prospectively safe, could be implied into a voyage charter-party: ‘because the omission of an express warranty may well have been deliberate, because such an implied term is not necessary for the business efficacy of the charter and because such an implied term would at best lie uneasily beside the express terms of the charter’.

Judges:

Bingham LJ

Citations:

[1987] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 37

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedMarks and Spencer Plc v BNP Paribas Securities Services Trust Company (Jersey) Ltd and Another SC 2-Dec-2015
The Court considered whether, on exercising a break clause in a lease, the tenant was entitled to recover rent paid in advance.
Held: The appeal failed. The Court of Appeal had imposed what was established law. The test for whether a clause . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Contract

Updated: 16 May 2022; Ref: scu.616751