Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly
CAN MARINE CARGO INSURANCE PROVIDE COVER FOR NON-EXISTENT GOODS?
John Dunt*
Engelhart v Lloyd’s Syndicate 1221
The decision in Engelhart CTP (US) LLC v Lloyd’s Syndicate 1221 & Ors
1 examines the English and US authorities regarding marine cargo insurance cover for loss of non-existent goods and concludes that there is a need for clear words before a policy covering physical losses can be read to cover non-physical losses.2
Engelhart CTP (US) LLC (“Engelhart”), part of a large trading group, claimed against certain syndicates at Lloyd’s of London (Lloyd’s) in respect of the loss of a cargo of copper ingots. The case was decided by Sir Ross Cranston in the Commercial Court on a construction summons on facts agreed for the purposes of the summons. These facts, which are as follows, are typical of this type of fraud.
In August 2015, Engelhart bought on cif China terms from World Gold International Ltd (“World Gold”) 7,000 mt of copper ingots which Engelhart then sold on cif terms
* Visiting senior research fellow, Institute of Maritime Law, University of Southampton.
1. [2018] EWHC 900 (Comm); [2018] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 24.
2. At [45].
Case and comment
465