J. Lauritzen A.S. v. Wijsmuller B.V. (The Dan King) - Court of Appeal (Dillon & Bingham L.JJ.) - 12 October 1989

Carrier unable to perform transportation contract - Whether contract entitles carrier to cancel - Whether contract frustrated

Wijsmuller contracted with Lauritzen to transport a drilling rig (the Dan King ) from Japan to Rotterdam between June and August 1981. The carriage was to be performed by using a “transportation unit” defined as meaning “Super Servant 1 or Super Servant 2 in Wijsmuller’s option”. The contract contained a cancellation clause, clause 17, which provided: