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[2008] EWHC 1361 (Comm), Queen’s Bench Division, Commercial Court, Mr Justice David Steel, 20 June 2008

Charterparty (Voyage) – Laycan notice – Whether charterers’ notification of laycan spread irrevocable or subject to charterers’ unilateral amendment – Amwelsh Coal Charter

This was the appeal of charterers against an award where it was held that their conduct in connection with the fifth voyage under the voyage charterparty “amounted to a repudiatory breach of the 5th voyage thereby releasing owners from any further performance of that particular voyage”. Charterers had attempted to amend the laycan notice The questions at issue were whether the nomination by the charterers of the laycan spread for the fifth voyage was irrevocable and whether the arbitrators erred in law in holding that the charterers were in repudiation in purporting to revoke their nomination. Aikens J held that the tribunal had been fully entitled to treat the charterers’ insistence on their “entitlement” to move the laycan period as consituting a “clear intention not to be bound by their original nomination”. The effect of the notice giving the laycan period was to write those particulars into the charterparty. The laycan notice could not be revocable for some purposes and irrevocable for other purposes. Therefore, as soon as the notice was given, the owners could rely on it. The idea that over the period of 20 days before the nomination of the vessel had to be made the charterers could change the laycan dates as frequently and as substantially as they saw fit was commercially unreal and uncertain.