Great Eastern Shipping Co Ltd v Far East Chartering Ltd and Anr (The “Jag Ravi”) – Court of Appeal)(Longmore, Tomlinson and Davis LJJ) – 9 March 2012

Contract – Letter of indemnity – Shipowners delivering cargo without production of bills of lading – Whether shipowners entitled to enforce letter of indemnity issued by receivers – Whether delivery constituted “delivery” under letter of indemnity – Whether receivers entitled to rely on defence of public policy – Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999

On 23 July 2008 an Indonesian company (“the shippers”) entered into a sale contract to supply shipments of coal FOB to a Swiss company Visa Comtrade AG (“VICAG”). On 10 September 2008 the first defendant, then known as Visa Comtrade (Asia) (“Visa”), an associated company of VICAG, chartered the vessel Jag Ravi to carry one of the shipments, a quantity of 44,104 mt of coal. The charterparty allowed the shipowners to discharge the cargo without production of original bills of lading “against charterers’ LOI in owners’ P&I Club format”.