Vinava Shipping Co. Ltd. v. Finelvet A.G. (The Chrysalis) - Q.B.D. (Com.Ct.) (Mustill J.) - 15 December 1982

Whether declaration of war frustrates charterparty

The Chrysalis was one of the 60 or so vessels trapped in the Shatt-al-Arab as a result of the Iran/Iraq war. She had been chartered on the NYPE form on 19 March 1980 for a time charter trip. She loaded cargo in America and berthed at Basrah for discharge on 14 September 1980. On 22 September the Iran/Iraq war broke out and vessels at Basrah were prohibited from leaving by the Iraqi port’s administration. The vessel continued to discharge, and by 13 October 1980 all the cargo had been discharged. In mid and late October there were hopes that the vessels would be released under the auspices of the Red Cross. (It was not until end December that it emerged that the Red Cross were not at that stage willing to support this arrangement.)