Goods were shipped for carriage from Australia to London by a steamer employed by the Crown as a transport under a bill of lading which conferred on the carriers liberty, inter alia, ‘to comply with any orders or directions as to departure, arrival, routes, ports of call, stoppages or otherwise howsoever given by H.M.’s Government. . . ‘ The ship was used for about 3 months as a warehouse at Imbros and Mudros for meat, part of which was transhipped from other vessels. On proceeding with the voyage the ship was torpedoed by the King’s enemies and the goods lost. A petition of right was presented by the respondents, the shippers, claiming that the use of the ship as a warehouse constituted a deviation from the voyage and precluded the appellant from relying on a clause in the bill of lading exempting him from liability for damage by the King’s enemies.
Held that the use of the ship as a warehouse was inconsistent with the main object of the contract and therefore did not come under the exceptions reserved in the bill of lading.
Decision of the Court of Appeal, 116 L.T.R. 515, upheld.
Judges:
Lord Chancellor (Finlay), Viscount Haldane, Lords Atkinson, Sumner, and Parmoor
Citations:
[1918] UKHL 386, 56 SLR 386
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Transport
Updated: 17 June 2022; Ref: scu.631479