Arcadia chartered the Eurus, and had succeeded in their application for an award in arbitration proceedings against Total. The award had been reversed, and they now appealed against that order. The parties disputed whether the amount was an award of damages or technically a debt.
Held: A clause allowing recovery of losses ‘due to failure to comply with charterer’s voyage instructions’ did not cover losses not contemplated. The word ‘indemnity’ can have two meanings.
Judges:
Staughton, Auld LJJ, Sir John Balcombe
Citations:
Times 16-Dec-1997, Gazette 08-Jan-1998, [1997] EWCA Civ 2754, [1998] 1 Lloyds Rep 351, [1998] CLC 90
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Royal Greek Government v Minister of Transport (The Ann Stathatos) 1949
The ship had been chartered, but the crew refused to sail without an escort, in war conditions. The charterer sought to be excused liability under a clause making allowance for ‘insufficiency of crew’.
Held: The presumption against surplusage . .
Cited – Novorossisk Shipping Co v Neopetro Co Ltd ChD 1990
. .
Cited – Momm v Barclays Bank International Ltd ComC 1977
The court considered the situation arising where there had been a payment from one customer’s account to another customer’s account within the same bank, and then reversed.
Held: The bank had until the end of the value date to decide whether . .
Cited – A/B Helsingfors Steamship Co Ltd v Rederiaktiebolaget Rex (The White Rose) 1969
A Finnish vessel had been ordered to load in Duluth, Minnesota, where Mr de Chambeau, an employee of charterers’ stevedores was injured while on board. He had left his proper place for purposes unconnected with his work, but owners were liable to . .
Cited – Harrison v Wright 11-Feb-1811
In assumpsit upon a memorandum for a charter-party, describing the agreement of the defendant, the shipowner, to proceed with all convenient speed to a foreign port, and there load, within 20 running days, a cargo from the plaintiff’s factors, and . .
Cited – Chandris v Isbrandtsen-Moller Co Inc CA 1950
The court considered whether an arbitrator could award interest in circumstances where section 3 of the 1934 Act expressly conferred such a power on ‘the court’ in proceedings tried in a ‘court of record’.
Held: Although section 3(1) of the . .
Cited – Mediterranean Freight Services Ltd v BP Oil International Ltd (The Fiona) CA 27-Jul-1994
A ship owner is to have made his ship seaworthy in order to claim an indemnity for dangerous fuel set alight by a third party. He was not entitled to claim where the failure to keep the ship seaworthy was his own.
Hirst LJ said: ‘The inclusion . .
Cited – Tor Line AB v Alltrans Group of Canada (The ‘TFL Prosperity’) HL 1984
A roll-on roll-off liner tendered under a charter party did not conform to the description in the contract and the owners relied on a widely drawn exclusion clause.
Held: The owners’ argument failed. A literal interpretation would have . .
Cited – Louis Dreyfus and Co v Parnaso cia Naviera SA (‘The Dominator’) 1959
The court considered whether it could look to a deleted clause to assist in its interpretation of the contract.
Held: The use of a word or phrase in the deleted part of a standard form clause may throw light on the meaning of the same word or . .
Cited – Yorkshire Dale Steamship Co Ltd v Minister of War Transport HL 1942
Treatment of Merchant as War Vessel
The House considered when a merchant vessel may be treated on the same footing as a war vessel and be deemed to be engaged on a warlike operation.
Held: This depended on the nature of the cargo and the voyage: ‘She was then in the act of . .
Cited – The Walumba (Owners) v Australian Coastal Shipping Commission 1965
(High Court of Australia) Instead of rescuing the vessel, she had been despatched to recover, the Walumba tug herself came into peril, and was salved by a pilot boat.
Held: The pilot boat was to be awarded pounds 10,000 for its services. A . .
Cited – Philco Radio v Spurling 1949
. .
Cited – Australian Coastal Shipping Commission v Green CA 1971
Because time begins to run from the date when a cause of action arises, it is necessary to consider what is the nature of an action for general average contribution.
Lord Denning MR said: ‘We so rarely have to consider the law of general . .
Cited by:
Cited – Petroleo Brasileiro Sa v Ene Kos 1 Ltd (‘The MT Kos’) SC 2-May-2012
The MT Kos had been chartered by the appellants. The respondents failed to make payments, and notice was given to withdraw the vessel. The contract said that such a notice was without prejudice to any claim. At the time, the vessel was laden. The . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Transport, Contract
Updated: 10 November 2022; Ref: scu.89926