6.1 Causation

It was common ground that the cracks prevented the full working of the vessel and that they fell within the off-hire clause in terms of causation; the question remained: Was the presence of the cracks the cause of the loss of time at the anchorage? The answer was: No, because, even if the cracks had not been present, the vessel would have had to wait at anchor for its turn to load. So, the vessel remained on hire for the time waiting at anchorage.1 The same logic, the vessel grounded and caused time loss; no doubt that ground was an off-hire event, but the vessel would not be off-hire after refloating if she should wait her turn at anchorage.2