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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales High Court (Commercial Court) Decisions >> M.H.Progress Lines SA v Orient Shipping Rotterdam BV & Ors [2011] EWHC 3083 (Comm) (28 November 2011) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Comm/2011/3083.html Cite as: [2011] EWHC 3083 (Comm) |
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QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
COMMERCIAL COURT
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL |
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B e f o r e :
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M.H.Progress Lines SA |
Claimants (Owners) |
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- and |
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Orient Shipping Rotterdam BV and between Orient Shipping Rotterdam BV -and- Nordana Project & Chartering |
Respondents (Charterers) Claimants (Disponent Owners) Respondents (Sub-Charterers) |
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Nigel Cooper QC (instructed by Bentleys Stokes & Lowless) for Nordana Project & Chartering
Hearing dates: 31 October 2011
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Crown Copyright ©
Mr. Justice Teare:
"Clause 26
..... Charterers to pay any extra crew war bonus, crew, and all other matters, all cargo claims to be settled as per Nype Interclub Agreement 1996 and any amendments thereto, same as when trading for their own account.
Clause 39
[1] All disputes from time to time arising out of this contract shall unless the parties agree forthwith on a single arbitrator, be referred to the final arbitrament of two arbitrators carrying on business in London, who shall be members of the Baltic Exchange and engaged in the shipping trades, one to be appointed by each of the parties, with power to such arbitrators to appoint an umpire.[1]
[2] Any claim must be made in writing and the claimant's arbitrator appointed within 12 months of final discharge and where this provision is not complied with the claim shall be deemed to be waived absolutely barred.
[3] No award shall be questioned or invalidated on the ground that any of the arbitrators is not qualified unless objections to his acting be taken before the award is made.
[4] In the event the amount of claim does not exceed US$25,000 the parties agree to refer any dispute to a sole arbitrator in accordance with the LMAA Claims Procedure 1989.
[5] This Charter Party shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law.[2]
Clause 50
...... Clause Paramount ..... deemed to be incorporated in this Charter Party."[3]
"(1) This Agreement applies to any charterparty which is entered into after the date hereof on the New York Produce Exchange Form 1946 or 1993 or Asbatime Form 1981 (or any subsequent amendment of such forms).
(2) The terms of this Agreement shall apply notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any other provision of the charterparty; in particular the provisions of Clause (6) (time bar) shall apply notwithstanding any provision of the charterparty or rule of law to the contrary.
(5) This Agreement applies regardless of legal forum or place of arbitration specified in the charterparty and regardless of any incorporation of the Hague, Hague-Visby Rules or Hamburg Rules therein.
Time Bar
(6) Recovery under this Agreement by an Owner or Charterer shall be deemed to be waived and absolutely barred unless written notification of the cargo claim has been given to the other party to the charterparty within 24 months of the date of delivery of the cargo or the date the cargo should have been delivered, save that, where the Hamburg Rules or any national legislation giving effect thereto are compulsorily applicable by operation of law to the contract of carriage or to that part of the transit that comprised carriage on the chartered vessel, the period shall be 36 months. Such notification shall if possible include details of the contract of carriage, the nature of the claim and the amount claimed.
Governing Law
(9) This Agreement shall be subject to English Law and Jurisdiction, unless it is incorporated into the charterparty (or the settlement of claims in respect of cargo under the charterparty is made subject to this Agreement), in which case it shall be subject to the law and jurisdiction provisions governing the charterparty."
The issue of law
The differing "purposes" of paragraph [2] of clause 39 and clause (6) of ICA 96.
The "interdependence" of paragraphs [1] and [2] of clause 39
"Any claim" in paragraph [2] of clause 39
Paragraphs [1] and [3] [5]
Cargo claims other than those under ICA 96
Additional clauses compared with standard clauses and incorporated clauses
Authorities
Conclusion
Note 1 As noted in paragraph 8 of the Award, the parties agreed that clause 39 be amended by reference to a third arbitrator. [Back] Note 2 The paragraph numbers in clause 39 are not in the text of the charterparty but have been inserted by me for ease of reference. [Back] Note 3 This had the effect of incorporating the Hague Rules into the charterparty. [Back] Note 4 There is now a fourth edition dated September 2011; see Scrutton on Charterparties and Bills of Lading 22nd ed. at p.510. [Back]