Marine Blast Ltd v Targe Towing Ltd and Anr - Court of Appeal (Mance and Peter Gibson LJJ) - 26 March 2004

Towage contract - Towcon terms - Agency - Whether Hirer had implied authority to conclude towing contract on behalf of Tow owner

In February 1994 Marine Blast entered into discussions with a Swedish company, Noas Nordmuddring AB ("Noas") for the hire of Noas's dredger Von Rocks. An offer by Noas to tow the dredger from Sweden to Scotland was turned down as too expensive. Marine Blast subsequently obtained a lower quotation from Targe, which had sent a fax proposing a tow on Towcon terms. Marine Blast did not ask for a copy of those terms but passed the fax on to Noas without comment. By 15 June 1994 the terms of the charter between Marine Blast and Noas for the hire of the dredger had in principle been agreed. The charter made no reference to any relationship with Targe.