DALMARE SPA V UNION MARITIME LTD AND ANOTHER (THE "UNION POWER")

[2012] EWHC 3537 (Comm), Queen's Bench Division, Commercial Court, The Honourable Mr Justice Flaux, 13 December 2012

Ship sale - Norwegian Sale Form 1993 - Whether term as to satisfactory quality implied into ship sale contract - Effect of "as is" and similar expressions - Sale of Goods Act 1979, section 14

An arbitration tribunal had decided that the buyers' claim for damages for breach by the sellers of a contract of sale for the vessel Union Power succeeded in full. This was the appeal of the sellers. The vessel had been inspected before sale and a special inspection had been carried out afterwards. Following the sale, the engine broke down, the cause being the failure of a crankpin bearing. The question upon which leave to appeal had been granted was whether a term as to satisfactory quality was implied into the contract/MOA by section 14 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979. Sellers said that it was not, because vessels were built to class standard and when second-hand vessels were sold on Saleform Memoranda of Agreement, it was invariably to that class standard reflected in the contract (NSF, clause 11).