GOLDEN ENDURANCE SHIPPING SA V RMA WATANYA SA AND OTHERS

[2014] EWHC 3917 (Comm), Queen's Bench Division, Commercial Court, Mr Justice Burton, 25 November 2014

Carriage of goods by sea - Bills of lading - Arbitration commenced - Anti-suit injunction in respect of Morocco proceedings

A cargo of 6,489.95 mt of wheat bran pellets was damaged by insects and black mould. It had been shipped on Golden Endurance to Morocco from three ports in Gabon (Owendo), Togo (Lomé) and Ghana (Takoradi) in June and July 2013. The cargoes were the subject of three separate bills of lading (the "Owendo Bill", the "Lomé Bill" and the "Takoradi Bill"), all of them providing for "freight payable as per Charter-Party dated 11 June 2013", and issued severally on 27 June, 18 July and 22 July 2013. Discharge in Morocco was completed in part whereupon the ship was arrested by the Casablanca Commercial Court in respect of the damage to the cargo. Proceedings were ongoing in Morocco. The Lomé Bill was headed Congenbill 1978 on the front and 1994 on the reverse. The other two bills referred to the 1978 edition. The only charterparty in evidence consisted of email exchanges with terms attached but unsigned. The claimant was the head owner, a company incorporated in the Republic of Liberia. The defendants were the purchasers and receivers of the cargo and their subrogated insurers.