London Arbitration 1/16

Contract – Lay-up facility – Respondent’s vessels laid up at claimant’s facility – Respondent failing to pay lay-up fees and other costs – Claimant terminating agreement – Respondent failing to remove vessels from facility as required by agreement – Quantum of fees and costs payable to claimant – Meaning of expression “costs and expenses” – Whether respondent entitled to damages for breach of London arbitration agreement – Whether order should be made for removal of vessels from facility

The claimant was the owner of a lay-up facility in the Far East which it operated under a licence from the local port authority. The respondent was a joint venture company that owned a number of vessels. The parties to the joint venture had been locked in litigation between themselves for many years under the joint venture agreement.