Lavender Shipmanagement Inc v Ibrahima Sory Affretement Trading SA and Others (The “Majesty”) – QBD (Comm Ct) (Calver J) [2020] EWHC 3462 (Comm) – 16 December 2020

Arbitration – Jurisdiction – Five bills of lading each incorporating charterparty arbitration clause – Cargo interests alleging cargo damage – Shipowners’ P&I Club issuing letter of undertaking – Whether LOU constituted agreement to consolidate arbitrations into single ad hoc arbitration – Whether notice of arbitration valid – Whether extensions of time valid

In October 2017 the vessel Majesty carried a cargo of bagged rice from Yangon in Myanmar to Conakry in Guinea. The cargo was carried pursuant to a voyage charterparty and under five bills of lading. Each bill of lading recorded the shipment of a different quantity of cargo and expressly incorporated the law and arbitration clauses of the voyage charterparty.