London Arbitration 11/24

On a voyage charter on an ANVOY (amended Synacomex 90) form for the carriage of wheat from Russia to Brazil, charterers denied liability for demurrage and filed a counterclaim for despatch. The dispute arose due to delays at the loading port, where a phytosanitary certificate was delayed due to weather and document issues. Owners claimed that charterers had a 3-hour grace period to provide the documents once loading was completed on Saturday 29th October 2022, after which time counted. The charterers argued that laytime could not begin until 08:00 on October 31st as weekends were excluded and the 3 hours’ grace could only start after the bills of lading were signed. The Tribunal ruled for the owners, confirming that time lost after loading completion counted as if it were laytime, regardless of weekends, awarding the owners their full claim for demurrage plus interest and costs.