Black Swan Inc. v. Castle Supply and Marketing Inc. (The Altus) - Before Stephen H. Busch, Chairman, Jack Ferrars and Pieter Vismans - S.M.A. Award 2620

Demurrage - Vessel prevented from getting into berth due to congestion resulting from tugboat strike

The vessel Altus was chartered on the Asbatankvoy form to carry a cargo of crude oil from Skikda, Algeria to a wide range of Atlantic North American and Carribbean ports. The vessel arrived and anchored on Skikda Roads at 06 36 on 6 November 1988. At that time a tugboat strike commenced, and all activity in the port ceased. The strike ended at 08 00 on 14 November, at which time normal activity was resumed in the port. However, no berth was immediately available because of congestion caused by the strike. A berth subsequently became available at 19 00 on 16 November, but the berthing of the Altus was delayed until 07 40 the following morning due to a daylight-only navigation restriction on port movements.