London Arbitration 8/04

Arbitrator - Jurisdiction - NYPE charter - London arbitration tribunal appointed to determine shipowners' claim for wrongful repudiation of charter - Tribunal making interim awards in owners' favour on liability and damages - Owners arresting charterers' ships to obtain security - Charterers arresting owners' vessel in France on ground that owners obtained excessive security and on ground of owners' alleged misconduct during arbitration - Owners giving notice to tribunal under paragraph 10 of LMAA Terms of claim for damages for wrongful arrest - Charterers bringing second set of proceedings in France claiming damages - Owners alleging that second set of French proceedings constituted breach of arbitration clause - Whether tribunal having jurisdiction to determine owners' claims for (1) wrongful arrest and (2) breach of arbitration clause - Effect of paragraph 10 of LMAA Terms

The vessel was chartered under an amended NYPE form. A dispute arose wherein the owners claimed that the charterers had wrongfully repudiated the charter. The dispute was referred to arbitration. The tribunal ("the original tribunal") held that the charterers were liable for wrongful repudiation of the charter by an interim award made in December 1998 ("the First Award"). By a second interim award made in September 1999 the tribunal awarded the owners a minimum of $780,530.40 damages ("the Second Award"). After a lengthy oral hearing held in September 2000 the tribunal, by a third interim award made in April 2001, awarded the owners a further $379,898.10 ("the Third Award"). There was then a Fourth Award in which the tribunal dealt with liability for the costs relating to the Third Award.