Lloyd's Maritime Law Newsletter

Arbitration – Practice – Costs – Assessment of costs

Contract – Supply of bunkers – Bunker company contracting to sell bunkers to shipowner – Seller procuring physical supply of bunkers to vessel by local supplier – Seller getting into financial difficulties – Shipowner paying local bunker supplier rather than seller – Whether payment discharged shipowner’s liability to pay seller – Whether seller entitled to payment from shipowner – Whether shipowner entitled to rely on defence of total failure of consideration – Whether shipowner entitled to set off cross-claims against seller

Practice – Costs – Whether to be assessed on standard or indemnity basis – Interest – Judgment sum awarded in US dollars – Whether interest to be awarded on basis of US Prime Rate or US dollar LIBOR

Arbitration – Jurisdiction – Recap email setting out agreed terms of charterparty but stated to be subject to shipper’s approval – Agreed terms including London arbitration clause – Shippers not approving vessel – Whether arbitration agreement concluded

Charterparty – Off-hire – Vessel’s holds rejected at first loading port – Period of off-hire – Rate at which off-hire was to be calculated – Whether charterers also entitled to damages for failure of vessel to present with clean holds