Laysun Service Co Ltd v Del Monte International GmbH [2022] EWHC 699 – 28 March 2022 (Calver J)

The Tribunal held that as sanctions had prevented receivers’ payment and Iran stopped issuing import permits, it became impossible for Charterers to perform their obligations under the COA, triggering the force majeure clause contained therein. Owners appealed under s.69 AA, inter alia, on the point of law of whether Charterers were entitled to invoke force majeure for an inability to make payments and import the goods into Iran. The Court found such questions of law “thinly veiled challenges to the Tribunal’s findings of fact” and dismissed the appeal.