London Arbitration 5/01

Time charter trip - Dispute relating to delivery - Charterparty containing lay/can narrowing provision and providing for owners/master to give 10/7/5/3/2/1 days notice of vessel’s delivery - Owners failing to narrow lay/can and failing to give proper notice of delivery - Vessel delivered earlier than expected - Whether lay/can narrowing provision a condition precedent - Whether charterers sustained loss and damage by reason of owners’ breaches

The vessel was chartered on an amended NYPE form, together with rider clauses, for one time charter trip basis delivery Jorf Lasfar (Morocco) via East Coast South America to Singapore/Japan range with a cargo of steel and/or lawful harmless general cargo. The charter was concluded on 23 October 1999. The position of the vessel at that time of the fixture was recorded as “ETA Jorf Lasfar 1st November” (the vessel being on her way to Jorf Lasfar to discharge a previous cargo). Lines 18/19 of the charterparty provided that the vessel was to be placed at the disposal of the charterers on dropping last outward sea pilot Jorf Lasfar at any time day or night, Sundays and holidays included. Clause 14 provided that the agreed spread of laydays and cancelling date was 3/13 November, but that by 2 November the owners were to narrow the ten day lay/can spread to five days.