Pace Shipping Co Ltd v Churchgate Nigeria Ltd (The "Pace") (No 2) - QBD (Comm Ct)(Burton J) - 7 October 2010

Carriage of goods by sea - Bill of lading holder bringing claim in own name against carrier in respect of short-delivery of cargo - Bill of lading holder asserting title to sue under section 2 of Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992 - Arbitration tribunal determining that rights of suit transferred to bill of lading holder under section 2(2)(a) and that bill of lading holder was entitled to damages whether or not it was the owner of the cargo - Shipowners contending that if bill of lading holder was not the owner of the cargo it could only succeed if it pleaded a cause of action under section 2(4) - Whether bill of lading holder required to plead in alternative that it was bringing a claim under section 2(4) on behalf of owner of cargo

In June 2004 the vessel Pace loaded a cargo of bagged rice in Thailand for carriage to Nigeria. Churchgate Nigeria Ltd (“Churchgate”) was the holder of the bills of lading. Churchgate complained inter alia that there had been a short delivery of the cargo, and asserted that it had title to sue pursuant to section 2(2)(a) of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992 (“the 1992 Act”). Churchgate said that it had become the holder of the bills of lading by virtue of a transaction, namely, the endorsement and delivery of the bills pursuant to a contractual arrangement, namely a contract to purchase the bagged rice.