Ship – Charter-Party – Freight – Payment of Hire to Cease if Working of Vessel Stopped until Efficient to Resume Service – General Average.
A charterer undertook to pay a certain hire per month for a steamship, the owners undertook to provide officers, crew, and stores. The charter-party provided-‘In the event of loss of time from deficiency of men or stores, breakdown of machinery, want of repairs, or damage, whereby the working of the vessel is stopped for more than 48 consecutive working hours, the payment of hire shall cease until she be again in an efficient state to resume her service.’
On the voyage the high-pressure engine broke down, and the vessel put into Las Palmas, where she was pronounced unseaworthy. As the port afforded no means of repair the owners and charterers agreed to send a tug from England to bring her to her destination at Harburg, and to regard the cost as general average. The vessel made that port with the aid of the tug and her low-pressure engine. The charterer paid pounds 867 as his share of general average.
The shipowner sued the charterer for hire from the time the vessel left Las Palmas with the tug till she was discharged of her cargo at Harburg. The Second Division held ( rev. Lord Trayner) that while the owners were not entitled to hire from Las Palmas to Harburg, they were entitled to payment while the ship was necessarily engaged in discharging cargo-four days or pounds 60 being taken as a reasonable view.
Held ( per the Lord Chancellor (Halsbury) and Lords Watson and Herschell) that no hire was due from Las Palmas to Harburg, but that the full ten days actually occupied in discharge of cargo should be paid for.
Lord Bramwell concurred in the latter but not in the former view.
Lord Morris was of opinion that no hire at all should be paid.
Judges:
Lord Chancellor (Halsbury), and Lords Watson, Herschell, Bramwell, and Morris
Citations:
[1891] UKHL 583, 28 SLR 583
Links:
Jurisdiction:
Scotland
Transport
Updated: 29 June 2022; Ref: scu.636786