THE "STX MUMBAI" AND ANOTHER MATTER

[2015] SGCA 35, Court of Appeal, Singapore, Sundaresh Menon CJ, Chao Hick Thin JA, Andrew Phang Boon Leong JA, Judith Prakash J and Quentin Loh J, 24 July 2015

Contracts - Anticipatory breach - Executed contracts - Insolvency as breach of contract - Disclosure required for ship arrest - Damages for wrongful arrest

The appellant had supplied bunkers to the ship STX Mumbai. The respondent was the shipowner, a Panamanian shipowning company. A company called STX Corporation was the contractual counterparty and the ship was bareboat-chartered by a further company in the STX Pan Ocean group. There was disagreement as to whether STX Corporation had contracted as agents for the registered owner or on their own behalf, but the facts were assumed. The respondent was part of the STX Pan Ocean Group, and when the vessel's bareboat charterer entered into insolvent liquidation the appellant feared that payment for the delivered bunkers would not be forthcoming. It notified the respondent that immediate payment was required and on the following day arrested STX Mumbai, two days before the contractually stipulated date of payment. The judge held that there was no valid basis for holding that the respondent was in anticipatory breach of the contract. The plaintiff appealed.