FIVE OCEAN CORPORATION V CINGLER SHIP PTE LTD

[2015] SGHC 311, Singapore High Court, Belinda Ang Saw Ean J, 4 December 2015

Arbitration - Interim measure - Sale of cargo retained on board ship - Carriage of goods - Lien over cargo for freight - Incorporation of charterparty - Arbitration - Interlocutory order or direction - Court's power - Evidence of property preservation - International Arbitration Act (Cap 143A, 2002 Rev Ed), section 12A

This was the plaintiff time charterer's application for the sale of a cargo of Indonesian steam coal on board the vessel Corinna to preserve the value of the cargo, as an interim measure in aid of arbitration in Singapore. The vessel was lying in international waters in the Bay of Bengal outside the last nominated port. The cargo remained on board and the vessel was prevented from berthing for discharge so as to preserve the lien of the carrier over the cargo. There was the customary string of charterparties: the plaintiff was the time charterer on NYPE terms and had entered into a head voyage charterparty on Gencon 1994 terms with the defendant who had in turn entered into a sub-voyage charterparty. English law applied to each of the charterparties. The question arose which charterparty had been incorporated into the bill of lading. A master's letter of authority to the shipping agents to sign bills of lading designated the time charterparty as the incorporated charterparty. Arbitration was to take place in Singapore pursuant to the head voyage charterparty. The plaintiff time charterer sought the sale of the cargo in support of that arbitration under section 12A(4) of Singapore's IAA (power to make interim orders; similar to section 44(3) of the Arbitration Act 1996).