London Arbitration 14/23

Time charterparty - Anchorage in Mississippi - Hurricane Ida - Grounding - 360-degree swing causing anchor chains entanglement - Tug assistance - Delays - Off-hire - Whether anchorages unsafe - Whether tug costs for the account of charterers - Whether charterers required to indemnify owners under clause 8 of NYPE form - Whether charterers in breach of warranty that the vessel would be always afloat - Whether master negligent in dealing with fouling of anchor chains - Causation - Effect of Clause Paramount - Hull fouling - Whether water at anchorage was fresh or brackish - LMAA Intermediate Claims Procedure - Late evidence.

The subject vessel was chartered on the terms of a charterparty evidenced by a fixture recap email and based on an amended NYPE 1946 form with additional clauses. The charter was for one trip via the US Gulf to China with a duration of about 80 to 90 days. The vessel's berthing at New Orleans/Mississippi River was delayed following the passage of Hurricane Ida and it waited at the Alliance Anchorage for 34 days. After loading a cargo of corn in bulk, the vessel sailed on 27 September 2021 and was redelivered in China on 7 December 2021.