Golden Ocean Group Ltd v Humpuss Intermoda Transportasi Tbk Ltd and Another (The “Barito”) – QBD (Comm Ct) (Popplewell J) [2013] EWHC 1240 Comm – 16 May 2013

Practice – Claim form – Service out of the jurisdiction – Claimant charterers bringing proceedings to enforce London arbitration award and for declarations as to identity of contracting shipowners and for injunction restraining arbitration proceedings in Singapore – Whether English court rather than Singapore arbitration tribunal should determine issue of arbitrability – Whether permission should be granted to serve claim form out of jurisdiction

The vessel Barito was chartered to the claimant charterers (Golden Ocean) in March 2008 for 11 to 13 months. The charterparty contained a London arbitration clause. It was Golden Ocean’s case that its contractual counterparty was the first defendant (HIT), the ultimate parent company of the Humpuss group of companies, and which was registered in Indonesia.