Sideridraulic Systems SpA and Anr v BBC Chartering & Logistic GmbH & Co KG (The “BBC Greenland”) – QBD (Com Ct)(Andrew Smith J) – 30 November 2011

Carriage of goods by sea – Jurisdiction – Loss of cargo carried on deck – Whether dispute to be determined by London arbitration or by US courts – Whether Hague-Visby Rules applicable – Whether lost cargo was “deck cargo”

By a fixture recap of 16 September 2009 the defendant carriers booked the carriage of two shipments of sand filter tanks, the first shipment being of 13 tanks and the second being of 10 tanks. The tanks were required for a water treatment plant and were to be carried from Porto Marghera, Italy to Mobile, Alabama. The recap gave the defendants liberty to carry the tanks as deck cargo: “shipment under/on deck in owners option, deck cargo at merchant risk and b/l to be marked accordingly”.