Lloyd's Maritime Law Newsletter

Banking – Letter of credit – Identity of issuer of letter of credit – Extrinsic evidence – Whether issuing bank excluded liability to make payment – Whether claimant estopped by convention from asserting that defendant was issuing bank

Arbitration – Award – Respondent challenging award in High Court under sections 68 and 69 of Arbitration Act 1996 – Challenges dismissed on paper – Respondent renewing applications by way of oral hearing – Procedure to be adopted for oral hearings – Commercial Court Guide, para O8.5

Practice – Anti-suit injunction – Shipowners and cargo receivers concluding settlement agreement containing London arbitration clause – Non-party bringing proceedings against shipowners in Chinese courts based on settlement agreement – Whether shipowners entitled to anti-suit injunction

Sale of goods – Term contract for sale of gasoline by 12 monthly consignments on cif terms – Seller claiming demurrage and other sums due under contract – Identity of buyer – Whether demurrage claims time-barred – Whether implied term that demurrage rates should be in line with market rate – Whether entitlement to demurrage was an indemnity or free-standing

Contract – Shipbuilding contract – Buyer cancelling contract for delay in delivery exceeding 210 days – Seller contending that delivery date had been extended and that buyer’s cancellation constituted renunciation of contract – Whether delivery date extended – Whether contract validly cancelled by buyer

Charterparty – Hold cleaning – Charterers breaching charter by carrying prohibited cargo on final voyage – Owners cleaning holds following redelivery and claiming compensation based on daily hire rate – Whether owners entitled to damages

Arbitration – Costs – Tribunal indicating in original award that it considered outcome to be a draw and that each side should bear own costs – Tribunal subsequently being informed of attempts to settle – Owners had made settlement offer marked “without prejudice” but omitting “save as to costs” – Charterers had rejected offer – Tribunal’s original award was in favour of charterers but in lesser amount than that offered by owners – Owners inviting tribunal to reconsider order for costs – Whether tribunal entitled to take account of owners’ offer in determining incidence of costs – Appropriate order for costs