MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co SA v Polish Ocean Lines (The ‘Tychy’) - QBD (Admlty Ct)(Peter Gross QC sitting as a Deputy Judge of the QBD) - 26 March 1999

Admiralty jurisdiction - Whether slot charterer was a ‘charterer’ within meaning of section 21(4) of Supreme Court Act 1981 - Whether claim lacked sufficient connection with a particular ship or ships

The plaintiff shipowners and the defendant charterers entered into an agreement dated 17 May 1993 providing for the plaintiffs to ‘charter’ container slots to the defendants on vessels operated by the plaintiffs. In support of their claim the plaintiffs arrested the Tychy , a vessel owned by the defendants, relying on sections 20(2)(h) and 21(4)(ii) of the Supreme Court Act 1981.