Lloyd's Law Reporter
PUSAN NEWPORT CO LTD V THE OWNERS AND/OR DEMISE CHARTERERS OF THE SHIPS OR VESSELS “MILANO BRIDGE” AND “CMA CGM MUSCA” AND “CMA CGM HYDRA”
[2021] HKCFI 1283, HKSAR Court of First Instance, Mr Justice Anthony Chan, 11 May 2021
Admiralty – Procedure – Forum non conveniens – Clearly or distinctly more appropriate forum – Legitimate personal or juridical advantage – Tonnage limitation
The plaintiff was the South Korean operator of a commercial maritime terminal at the port of Busan and had no business operations outside South Korea. The defendants were the owners of the vessel Milano Bridge. The plaintiff sought damages for damage to cranes and business interruption arising out of an allision involving contact between the vessel, some of the plaintiff’s cranes and another vessel. The sister ship CMA CGM Musca had been arrested in Hong Kong in respect of the claim and the dispute was otherwise unrelated to Hong Kong. There were several sets of litigation in progress, including a limitation fund set up in South Korea, and accident investigation as well as litigation materially identical to the present proceedings in Japan. The defendants applied for the action to be stayed on the grounds of forum non conveniens or lis alibi pendens.