London Arbitration 17/98

Time-charter - Whether owners or charterers liable for time spent cleaning ship’s bottom

The vessel was time-chartered on the NYPE form. The owners claimed that because of a long wait in tropical waters the ship’s bottom became fouled and had to be cleaned. They contended that the charterers should pay the cleaning costs, and that the owners were not liable for a short period of off-hire for which the charterers contended whilst the cleaning operation was taking place.