Lloyd's Maritime Law Newsletter

Charterparty – Bunkers on redelivery – Parties agreeing that owners would provide redelivery bunkers with charterers paying against invoice without deduction – Charterers failing to pay for bunkers as agreed – Whether owners failed to mitigate loss

European law – Protection of employees in the event of insolvency of employer – Applicability to seamen employed to work on non-EU flagged vessel – Whether Greek national law constituted “equivalent” protection – Council Directive 80/987/EEC, articles 1(1) and 1(2).

Charterparty – Time charter trip – Vessel chartered for one trip – Vessel carrying and discharging cargo – Whether charterers entitled to order empty vessel to proceed to a further load port for another carrying voyage – Whether last voyage order legitimate

Demurrage – Rain time – Holidays – Availability of hatches – Crane breakdowns

Contract – Long-term agreement for exclusive supply of bitumen – Contract entitling either party to terminate for other party’s breach on service of notice requiring breach to be remedied within specified period – Supplier terminating agreement for repudiatory breach at common law without serving contractual notice – Whether termination lawful – Whether time of payment of invoice of the essence – Whether supplier’s damages should be assessed at nil.

Charterparty - Time-bar - Owners claiming balance of hire and other sums - Charterers withholding hire on basis of off-hire and equitable set-off - Whether claim was for balance of account - Date of accrual of owners' causes of action - Whether owners' claims time-barred

Arbitration – Delay in pursuing arbitration claim – Whether delay inordinate and inexcusable – Whether claim should be dismissed

Contract - Shipbuilding contract - Time-bar - Buyer complaining of faulty cranes more than three years after delivery of vessel - Contract providing for GuaranteePeriod of 12 months from delivery with notice of any defect being given not later than 30 days after end of Guarantee Period - Buyer not giving notice of crane defect within contractual period - Whether buyer's claim time-barred - Whether section14(3) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 applicable to shipbuilding contract where vessel built for use in standardised trade

Practice - Service of writ out of jurisdiction - Plaintiff physically supplying bunkers to vessel in Hong Kong pursuant to contract with first defendant - First defendant had contracted to supply bunkers to second defendant who had in turn contracted to supply bunkers to owner of vessel - Plaintiff not receiving payment - Whether leave should be granted to serve writ out of jurisdiction against second defendant - Whether plaintiff had good arguable case that second defendant committed tort of conversion within jurisdiction or that contract was made through agent residing within jurisdiction