Timing headache

The courts around the world have been having a busy year. After a long awaited decision in Transfield Shipping Inc v Mercator Shipping Inc (The Achilleas), Michael Wagener sums up the significance of this case

The vessel, the Achilleas, was let on an amended NYPE form. It was redelivered late which caused the owners to miss the laycan date of a subsequent fixture. Because the market had dropped at the critical time, the owners were obliged to renegotiate the same fixture at a reduced rate. They claimed the difference between the original higher rate and the renegotiated rate over the period of the fixture, four to six months.