London Arbitration 12/21

Sale of ship – Vessel sold “free of average damage affecting … class” – Bilge keels found damaged on underwater inspection – Attending surveyor acting on behalf of Class recommending that repairs be carried out – Class head office issuing clean Class certificate – Seller tending notice of readiness for delivery – Whether NOR valid – Whether average damage affecting Class – Whether any failure to give valid NOR was “due to proven negligence” of seller – Norwegian Saleform 1993

The subject vessel was built in 1992 with bilge keels. They were long metal fins running horizontally along a sizeable section of each side of the vessel’s hull. They were located at the turn of the bilge, and were not on the vertical plane of the shell-plating, and they protruded. Their main purpose was to stabilise the vessel at sea by reducing her rolling motion. There was no Class requirement to fit bilge keels to ships but most vessels had them.