Chilean Nitrate Sales Corpn. v. Marine Transportation Co. Ltd. (The Hermosa) - Court of Appeal (Cumming-Bruce, Donaldson and Oliver L.JJ.) - 3 March 1982

Whether sub-charterers entitled to terminate charter on grounds of renunciatory breach by owners/head-charterers

Maritime Transportation Co. (MTC) were time-charterers of the vessel Hermosa . Chilean Nitrate Sales Corpn. (Nitrates) had sub-chartered the vessel from MTC. On August 1975, Nitrates terminated the sub-charter on the grounds that MTC had evinced an unwillingness or inability to maintain the vessel in an efficient and seaworthy state. Nitrates claimed that MTC’s conduct amounted to an anticipatory or renunciatory breach which entitled Nitrates to terminate the contractual relationship.