Toyomenka Pacific Petroleum Inc. v. Hess Oil Virgin Islands Corp. (The Edenburg Fruid) - U.S. District Ct. (S.D.N.Y.) (Cedarbaum D.J.) - 23 July 1991

Sale of goods - Berthing and delivery delayed by Hurricane Hugo - Whether sellers entitled to demurrage - Whether buyers entitled to take advantage of force majeure exception

Toyomenka contracted to sell crude oil to Hess and to deliver the oil by ship to Hess’s St. Croix terminal between 25 October and 7 November 1989. The contract provided that Hess would pay demurrage for the ship’s laytime at the terminal. It also contained a force majeure clause which provided: