Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly
LAST ORDERS AND LATE REDELIVERY
The Gregos
The charterparty in The Gregos
1 began on 8 January 1988 and was for “about 50 to maximum 70 days time charter”.2 In the event, the Gregos was due to be redelivered to the owners at the latest by 18 March.3 On 9 February the charterers sent a telex to the master to load cargo at Palua on the River Orinoco in Venezuela for Fos in Italy. If judged at this time, it could reasonably be expected that the charterers’ proposed voyage would allow redelivery by the end of the charterparty period (18 March). However, subsequent to the charterers’ telex and before the Gregos arrived at the Orinoco, another vessel grounded severely and partially blocked the river. By the time the Gregos arrived at Palua, it could no longer reasonably be expected that the last voyage as ordered by the charterers would allow redelivery by 18 March. On 25 February, the owners told the charterers that they were declining to perform the laden voyage from Palua to Fos and called upon the charterers to give revised last voyage orders.
The charterers insisted that the previous order was proper and legitimate; it was argued
1. Torvald Klaveness A/S v. Arni Maritime Corp. (The Gregos) [1994] 1 W.L.R. 1461 (H.L.); rvrsg [1993] 2 Lloyd’s Rep. 335, (C.A.); rvrsg [1992] 2 Lloyd’s Rep. 40 (Evans, J.)
2. There was at the early stages some dispute about whether there was a margin for later redelivery than 70 days. The arbitrator held that there was no room for a margin and it was no longer contended before the House of Lords that there was. This must be correct despite the dicta of Lord Morris in London & Overseas Freighters v. Timber Shipping Co. (The London Explorer) [1972] A.C. 1, 21. See the authorities cited in Wei, “Time Charterparties: Final Voyages and Contractual Rights” [1992] S.J.L.S. 415, 417–418.
3. This date is sometimes referred to as the “final terminal date”.
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